Percy Jackson and the Olympus reads Percy Jackson books
by Tantei-Otaku-kun
Summary: After the giant war, Percy Jackson went missing for ten long years. One day the Demigods suddenly went back to the 1970s. Twenty three years before the fallen hero was born! The Gods and Demigods reads Percy Jackson books!
1. Transport to the 70s

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

* * *

Annabeth Chase POV

It been ten years...Since that night. The night of the man whom I love the most, disappeared from Heaven nor on Earth. I loves him so much.

These ten years is a long time since I last saw him.

I made a vow that I will never fall in love again until he come back.

I accepted immortality including The Seven and who fought in Titans War. I immediately stopped aging by age twenty two.

 _I promised my heart that he'll come back_

 _But my heart knew...That he'll never come back_

 _Never again~_

 _I waited ten years for him_

 _Another ten will be just fine_

 _I don't care if he gone. I'll be waiting for him~_

 _I don't care if the Fates forbid me from seeing him_

 _I will open the door for him to welcome home~_

 _I will pretend that his disappearance wasn't true_

 _I will put a fake smile on_

 _I know, I know, I know~_

 _That you are gone_

 _I'll stay for you and wait for you_

 _I don't care if he gone. I'll be waiting for him_

 _I waited for ten years for him_

 _Another ten will be just fine~_

I saw two Percy. A younger version of Percy and older version like seventeen Percy.

The younger one said,

 _"Hurry up Wise Girl, make a choice. Whenever choice you make, I will be always be with you."_

I just want to say _what choice?! I don't know what do you mean!?_ But I couldn't speak.

The older one said,

 _"Wise Girl! Don't come here! It too dangerous! Leave! Hurry before they find you! I don't want you to end up cursed like me! Leave!"_

Two Percy started to run away from me and disappeared in darkness.

I woke up in startled.

No way...Percy...He...He...

I started sobbing.

He is cursed...He is in imprisonment.

Oh Gods...

Suddenly I have been flashed to Olympus and I saw my friends.

"Lord Zeus?" I asked look at Zeus.

"WHO DARES INTERRUPTED THE MEETING!" Zeus boomed.

"Lord Zeus, did you not sent us?" Piper asked.

"NO!" Zeus shouted.

Wow, seems Lord Zeus is in the bad mood.

Suddenly a book appeared from no where.

"What the..." Demeter muttered.

 _Dear Olympus and Demigods,_

 _Today is the a day. We'll begin reading Percy Jackson's adventures. To order to change the hero's tragic fate. Please introduce your name and your title. Expect for Percy Jackson's title ( you need to ask Annabeth's permission for it) Don't kill or we shall curse you. Please enjoy your time._

 _The Fates_

"Seems we can't offense The Fates _._ Now full title." Zeus said.

"Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, Hero of the Olympus, Ex-Lieutenant of Artemis, and Girlfriend of Nico Di Angelo." Thalia said.

"HOW DARE YOU CHEAT ON ME!" Hera slapped Zeus.

"Jason Grace, Son of Jupiter, Killer of the Trojan Sea Monster, Slayer of Krios, One of the Seven, Hero of Olympus, and Boyfriend of Piper McLean." Jason said.

Hera kept slapping Zeus harder than before.

"Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena, Barer of the sky, Architect of Olympus, Sailor of the Sea of Monsters, Wanderer of the Labyrinth, Hero of Olympus twice, Tricker of Arachne, Survivor of Tartarus, Leader of Camp Half-Blood, and Girlfriend of Percy Jackson." Annabeth said.

Every Olympus stared at Annabeth in shock.

"Clarisse La Rue, Daughter of Ares, Drakon Slayer, Sailor of the Sea of Monsters, Driver of Ares Chariot, Wanderer of the Labyrinth, Hero of Olympus, Girlfriend of Chris Rodriguez." Clarisse said.

"WHAT!? I HAVE A DAUGHTER?!" Ares shouted.

Apollo chuckled.

"YES! 'bout time Ares!" Apollo smiled.

Ares groaned and mumbled about something about, _cursed the Fates._

"Katie Gardner, Daughter of Demeter, Hero of Olympus, Girlfriend of Travis Stoll." Katie said.

"Travis Stoll, Sons of Hermes, Camp Half-Blood best prankers in a history, Heroes of Olympus, Boyfriend of Katie Gardner." Travis said.

"Connor Stoll, Son of Hermes, Camp Half-Blood best prankers in a history, and Hero of Olympus." Connor said.

"Chris Rodriguez, Son of Hermes, Wanderer of the Labyrinth, Hero of Olympus and Boyfriend of Clarisse La Rue." Chris said and try to ignored Ares's glare.

"Heya! I'm Leo Valdez, Son of Hephaestus, Fire-user, One of the Seven, Hero of Olympus, and Supreme Commander of the Argo II at your service!" Leo bowed.

"Piper McLean, Daughter of Aphrodite, Charm speaker, One of the Seven, Hero of Olympus, Girlfriend of Jason Grace." Piper said.

"Nico Di Angelo, Son of Hades, Wandered of the Labyrinth, Ambassador of Pluto, Ghost King, Hero of Olympus, but my dad didn't break the oath because I was born before World War II and kept in the Lotus Hotel." Nico said quickly.

"Frank Zhang, Son of Mars, Legacy of Poseidon, Shape shifter, Defeater of Alycloneus, One of the Seven, Hero of Olympus, Boyfriend of Hazel Levesque." Frank said.

Hades paled. _It cannot be.._

"Hazel Levesque, Daughter of Pluto, One of the Seven, Hero of Olympus, Girlfriend of Frank Zhang." Hazel smiled.

"N-no way! YOU WERE DEAD! YOU DIED TWENTY THREE YEARS AGO!" Hades screamed.

The Olympus stared at Hazel in horror/shock.

"How?!" Hades asked.

"Nico. Nico brought back to life." Hazel smiled at Nico.

"Perhaps...What years is it?" I asked.

"*smack* 1970s." Zeus said.

I grew wide in shock.

"That means...We got fifty years to save Seaweed Brain's fate!" I gasped.

"Who is Percy Jackson?" Poseidon asked.

I smiled.

"He is your son from twenty three years from now." I smiled.

"POSEIDON *smack* YOU *smack* BROKE *smack* THE *smack* OATH!" Zeus shouted.

"Well! You have two kids!" Poseidon shouted back.

That made Hera slapping Zeus harder.

"Who want to read the first chapter?" I asked.

"Ooh! Me! Me!" Aphrodite said.

I gave her the book.

"Chapter one..."


	2. Accidentally vaporize my teacher

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

* * *

 **I accidentally vaporize my per-a** **lgebra teacher.**

"What? Lady Aphrodite, can you reread it again? I think I heard it wrong." Leo asked.

" _I accidentally vaporize my per-algebra teacher._ " Aphrodite reread it again.

The room went quiet for second and then full of laughter and laughter's tears.

"OH MY GODS!" Leo chuckled loudly.

"How could he do that?" Jason asked with a disbelief.

The Gods and Demigods turned and look at Annabeth.

"Whoa! Don't ask me!" Annabeth hold up her hand in the defeated-style.

 **Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.**

"No one does!" Thalia groaned.

Demigods nodded with a agreement, while the Gods look guilty about what happened to theirs children in the past.

 **If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is** **:**

"RUN! HIDE! PERCY IS GIVE US A ADVICE!" Thalia playfully screaming in fear.

The Demigods chuckled.

"What wrong with Percy giving a advice?" Poseidon asked.

Thalia tried to not laugh, but she couldn't.

"When...Ever...Percy..Give...Us...An...Advice..It's...So...Horrible!" Thalia said between laughter.

The Stolls snickered.

"Do you remember when that Percy give an advice to the Demeter cabin...And on the next day there were screaming in the early morning...All of the Demeter cabin went in insane about their garden were ruined. It took us about a week to calm down the Demeter cabin." Travis and Connor snickered.

Travis and Connor got slapped on the head by Demeter cabins.

Poseidon stared at the Stolls blankly.

Next thing he knew the Gods were on the floor and laughing so hard.

"Just...Like...Uncle P..." Apollo said between laughter.

Poseidon blushed furiously.

It took them twenty two minutes to calm down.

"Ahem. Aphrodite you can continue reading." Zeus said.

 **Close** **this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.**

"Hmm...Not bad actually." Thalia said.

"But, still it won't work." Jason said.

"So?" Thalia shrugged.

 **Being a half-blood is dangerous.**

"Check." Leo said.

 **It's scary.**

"Double check." Piper added.

 **Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.**

"Triple check." Annabeth said.

The Demigods nodded with a agreement.

The Gods look down in ashamedly.

 **If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.**

 **But if you recognize yourself in these pages—if you feel something stirring inside—stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you.**

 **Don't say I didn't warn you.**

"Hey! He didn't warn me!" Nico protected.

"Death breath, he _was_ busy fighting the manticore." Thalia glared at Nico.

Poseidon paled. _A manticore?_

 **My name is Percy Jackson.**

"No you're Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth yelled.

"Aqua Man!" The Stolls snickered.

"Kelp Head!" Thalia and Jason yelled and stared at each other and laughed.

"No! It's Peter Johnson!" Some random Dionysus's kid shouted and snickered.

 **I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.**

 **Am I a troubled kid?**

"YES!" All the Demigods shouted without a hesitation.

 **Yeah. You could say that.**

"Even he admit it!" Travis said.

Suddenly Travis and Connor stared at each other with a mischievous smile.

"You what I'm thinking?" Connor asked with a smirk.

Travis grinned.

"Blackmail for Percy." Travis put a mischievous smile.

Poseidon sighed.

 **I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan— twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff** **.**

Athena and Annabeth beamed.

"That sound amazing!" Annabeth smiled.

Athena look at her daughter and smiled.

"No! That sound like torture!" Poseidon groaned.

The gods agreed except for Zeus, Annabeth, and Athena.

 **I know—it sounds like torture. Most Yancy field trips were.**

"like father, like son." Apollo grinned at Poseidon.

Poseidon blushed furiously.

 **But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.**

 **Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee.**

"Hmm...That description sound familiar." Zeus muttered.

 **You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.**

"HE SLEPT IN CLASS!?" Athena and Annabeth screamed.

 **I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

"He just jinxed it." Clarisse groaned.

 **Boy, was I wrong.**

 **See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway.**

All the Gods and Demigods laughed so hard even Hades and Ares.

"Uncle P...I really...Loves your son." Hermes and Apollo said between laughter.

 **And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim.**

"OH DEAR GODS!" Hermes laughed so hard like he could have a heart attack.

 **And the time before that... Well, you get the idea.**

"NOOO! MOREEE!" Hermes and Apollo whined.

 **This trip, I was determined to be good.**

"Once again...He. Just. Jinxed. It." Clarisse facepalmed.

 **All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.**

Annabeth and Thalia look like they're going to murder someone.

 **Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin.** **On top of all that, he was crippled.**

"Oooh! Wait until Grover hear about this." Connor snickered.

 **He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

"Satyrs!" Dionysus grumbled.

 **Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair—**

Annabeth and Thalia started cursing and deadly threatening Nancy Bobofit.

 **And she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation. The headmaster had threatened me with death—**

"WHAT?!" Poseidon screamed.

"Oh shush Poseidon. The sentence _wasn't_ finish yet, you idiot." Hades rolled his eyes.

 **by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.**

"Oh." Poseidon said blankly and blushing in embarrassment.

 **"I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.**

"DO IT" Ares shouted.

Everyone included survivors of Titan War Ares cabin stared at Ares/dad like ' _dude-what-is-the-matter-with-you_ '.

Survivors of Titan War Ares cabin give Percy Jackson with a respect for the Titan War and saving their lives for the sake of Camp Half-Blood.

 **Grover tried to calm me down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter."**

Aphrodite and Aphrodite cabin wrinkled her nose in a disgust.

"On your hair? Oh Gods no." Aphrodite screamed in horror.

Poseidon rolled his eyes.

 **He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.**

 **"That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

"Aah! Damn you stupid Satyr! I want some action!" Ares shouted.

Suddenly vine covered Ares's mouth.

"Don't you dare insult my Satyr you fool!" Dionysus shouted in annoyance.

The Demigods look at Dionysus in shock/surprise.

 **"You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens."**

"Ouch. Really?" Poseidon look offended.

 **Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.**

 **Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.**

 **He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.**

 **It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.**

"Longer." Everyone corrected.

 **He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a stele, for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.**

"Hmm...That sound familiar..." Hades muttered.

 **Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker.**

"That sound awesome. I wanna tried that. That must feel so good." Ares grinned.

"Oh I see..That probably why that your motorcycle get on my shop so often." Hephaestus muttered.

 **She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.**

"A monster?" Athena asked.

No one answer her.

 **From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn. She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month.**

"OH MY GODS! THAT HORRIBLE!" Hermes shrieked in horror.

Apollo nodded furiously.

"I can feel Percy. I remembered that day..." Hermes and Apollo shivered on that horrific memory

 **One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight—**

"Bloody hell, that horrible" Hermes exclaimed.

 **I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human.** **He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."**

"Grover..." Thalia facepalmed.

 **Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art.**

 **Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and I turned around and said, "Will you shut up?"**

 **It came out louder than I meant it to.**

"Of course. It did." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

 **The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.**

 **"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"**

 **My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir."**

 **Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"**

"Oooh no. Oh no. It cannot be—" Athena face-palmed.

 **I looked at the carving, and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"**

"WHY IT HAVE TO BE THAT!? OH GODS'S SAKE!" Olympus facepalmed and shivered.

 **"Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because ..."**

 **"Well..." I racked my brain to remember. "Kronos was the king god, and—"**

"GODS?! THAT IS IT! I WILL BLAST HIM TO—"

"Dad! Chir—I mean Mr. Brunner will correct him." Thalia said.

 **"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.**

"See?" Thalia said.

Zeus pouted.

 **"Titan," I corrected myself. "And ... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters—"**

 **"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me.**

"That right!" Aphrodite blurted.

 **"—and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continued, "and the gods won."**

"Did he just shortens up the ten years war summary?" Athena said blankly.

The Demigods nodded.

"Just in a few sentences?" Athena asked with a disbelief.

Once again the Demigods nodded again.

Athena shakes her head with a disbelief.

"You got be kidding me."

 **Some snickers from the group.**

Aphrodite frowned.

"He it right though..."

"Mortals can be so weird." Apollo shrugged.

 **Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"**

 **"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"**

"Oooh busted!" Hermes grinned and high five Apollo.

 **"Busted," Grover muttered.**

Travis and Connor gasped in horror.

"Nooo!" Travis hugged Connor and faked sobbing.

 **"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.**

 **At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.**

"Horses ears." Connor snickered.

 **I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."**

 **"I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"**

"Seriously?" Apollo face-palmed.

 **The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses.**

"When boys will stop?" Artemis muttered.

 **Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."**

 **I knew that was coming.**

 **I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

 **Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go— intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.**

 **"You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told me.**

 **"About the Titans?"**

 **"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."**

 **"Oh."**

 **"What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."**

 **I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.**

"It for your own good." Annabeth said.

 **I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!'" and challenged us, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever lived, and their mother, and what god they worshipped.**

Jason stared at the book and smiled. _I wanna do that. That sound better._

 **But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C– in my life. No—he didn't expect me to be as good; he expected me to be better. And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.**

 **I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one long sad look at the stele, like he'd been at this girl's funeral.**

"He probably has." Zeus said.

 **He told me to go outside and eat my lunch.**

 **The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue.**

 **Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York state had been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.**

"Jeez. Dad, why are so pissed?" Apollo wondered.

"Don't ask me. This is from the future." Zeus shrugged.

 **Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.**

"Is she yours Hermes?" Apollo asked.

"If she is, I probably disown her." Hermes said.

The Olympus whistled at Hermes's impudent behavior.

 **Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from that school—the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.**

 **"Detention?" Grover asked.**

 **"Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean—I'm not a genius."**

"Oooh! Another blackmail for Percy!" The Stolls grinned.

 **Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"**

The room went silence and then full of laughter.

"Same Grover!" Thalia laughed.

 **I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.**

 **I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home. She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years—**

Leo whistled.

"Dang!"

 **—and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.**

 **Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table.**

 **I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends—I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists—and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.**

 **"Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos.**

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose in disgust.

 **I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper."**

"Not going to happen." Jason shakes his head.

 **But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears.**

Poseidon grinned. _Take that!_

 **I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

 **Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.**

 **Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see—"**

 **"—the water—"**

 **"—like it grabbed her—"**

 **I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again.**

 **As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester. "Now, honey—"**

Suddenly Hades groaned and realized who is Mrs. Dodds really is. _Alecto..Oh great, Poseidon will kill me._

Hades shrink on his seat.

 **"I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."**

"NEVER. EVER. Guess your punishment. That is number two rule!" Hermes said and the Stolls nodded.

 **That wasn't the right thing to say.**

"Told ya."

 **"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.**

 **"Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me. I pushed her."**

 **I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.**

 **She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.**

 **"I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said.**

 **"But—"**

 **"You—will—stay—here."**

 **Grover looked at me desperately.**

 **"It's okay, man," I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

 **"Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at me. "Now."**

 **Nancy Bobofit smirked.**

 **I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare.**

The Demigods shuddered in fear.

"What wrong? Is it cold in here?" Hestia asked.

"Oh—oh no! I-it not that! It just...Uh...Um...Percy's famous 'I'll-kill-you-later' stare, is scary. Most monsters run away from his horrific stare." Nico shuddered.

Everyone jumped and almost forgot that Nico is here.

 **Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.**

 **How'd she get there so fast?**

"Monster." Athena said.

 **I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

 **I wasn't so sure.**

 **I went after Mrs. Dodds.**

The Olympus and Demigods facepalmed.

 **Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.**

 **I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.**

 **Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.**

"I wish." Hermes said sadly.

 **But apparently that wasn't the plan.**

 **I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.**

 **Except for us, the gallery was empty.**

"Oh great..No witness.." Poseidon muttered as his hair became pale. _What is Perseus's first monster?_

 **Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.**

 **Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it...**

 **"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.**

 **I did the safe thing. I said, "Yes, ma'am."**

 **She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

"Get away from what?" Athena asked in confusion.

 **The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.**

 **She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.**

 **I said, "I'll—I'll try harder, ma'am."**

 **Thunder shook the building.**

"Dramatic." Poseidon rolled his eyes.

 **"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."**

 **I didn't know what she was talking about.**

 **All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room.**

Hermes and Apollo laughed so hard.

"I really love your son, Uncle P." Apollo grinned.

 **Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on Tom Sawyer from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.**

"Seaweed Brain..." Annabeth chuckled softly and then her expression turned sad.

Percy went missing for a ten years ago and never have been found again, but never been found in the underworld.

She knew that she must tell Poseidon that his son is gone. Maybe that she could change the future for Seaweed Brain!

 **"Well?" she demanded.**

 **"Ma'am, I don't..."**

 **"Your time is up," she hissed.**

 **Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.**

"YOU SENT A FURIES AFTER MY TWELVE YEARS OLD SON! WHO DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT GREEK MYTHOLOGY!" Poseidon screamed and used his Trident on Hades to blast him off of Olympus.

Unfortunately, Poseidon can only blasted Hades off his 'temporary' throne.

Poseidon punched Hades in the gut and then kicked him in the face.

While everyone is on shock/fear, Ares is laughing.

"This is the battle that I'mma talking about!" Ares grinned.

Few barbaric moments later...

Hades finally passed out.

Everyone is at the corner of the room even Ares and Zeus. Seem everyone is petrified at Poseidon's livid behavior.

"NEXT TIME WHEN SOMEONE HARM MY SON, WILL BE MURDERED!" Poseidon said coldly.

Everyone felt Poseidon's wrath and promised on the Styx that they'll won't harm Perseus Jackson or will feel Poseidon's wrath.

Finally, Poseidon's eye turn back to normal like a calm sea.

 **Then things got even stranger.**

 **Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.**

 **"What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

"Pfft! What in the Hades can the pen can do?!" Leo laughed.

Annabeth smirked.

 **Mrs. Dodds lunged at me.**

 **With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword—** **Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.**

Leo's laugher went dead silence.

Annabeth snickered.

 **Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.**

 **My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

"Wimp.." Ares said quietly, unfortunately only Poseidon heard it.

Poseidon's used his Trident to blasted Ares off Olympus, and won't come back anytime soon.

Ares cabin look at the giant hole that Poseidon made.

All the sudden Ares cabin became less confident.

 **She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

 **And she flew straight at me.**

 **Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.**

 **The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. Hisss!**

 **Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.**

The Demigods shuddered.

 **I was alone.**

 **There was a ballpoint pen in my hand.**

"He just let the mist..." Jason voice trailed off.

 **Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.**

 **My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.**

 **Had I imagined the whole thing?**

"No!" Demigods shouted.

 **I went back outside.**

 **It had started to rain.**

 **Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."**

"Who?" Poseidon asked.

 **I said, "Who?"**

"Like the father, like the son." Apollo smiled.

 **"Our teacher. Duh!"**

 **I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about.**

 **She just rolled her eyes and turned away.**

 **I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

 **He said, "Who?"**

 **But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

 **"Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious."**

 **Thunder boomed overhead.**

 **I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved.**

 **I went over to him.**

 **He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."**

 **I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.**

 **"Sir," I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

 **He stared at me blankly. "Who?"**

 **"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."**

 **He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"**

"Who wanna read next?" Aphrodite asked.

Frank rise his hand.

"Me." Frank said.

" **Three old ladies knit the socks of death.** " Frank reads out loud.


	3. Three old ladies knit the socks of death

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

* * *

 **I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle.**

"Oh Gods..."

 **For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr—a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip—had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.**

 **Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.**

Thalia shakes her head. "You always been a psycho..."

 **It got so I almost believed them—Mrs. Dodds had never existed.**

"Wait—wait, he said _almost_." Annabeth said.

 **Almost.**

"Told ya."

Demigods rolled their eyes.

 **But Grover couldn't fool me. When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying.**

"We got to give Grover lying lessons.." Travis said and Connor nodded with a agreement.

 **Something was going on. Something had happened at the museum.**

"Uh—duh." Annabeth said sarcastically.

 **I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.**

The Demigods shuddered. _I know that feeling.._

 **The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the HudsonValley touched down only fifty miles from YancyAcademy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.**

"Seriously? You're killing the mortals for a some stupid fight." Hestia scolded her brothers.

 **I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs. I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.**

"That's horrible!" Athena shrieked.

Jason shakes his head with a agreement. "No kidding."

 **Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.**

The demigods laughed hysterically.

"Hey! Owl Head what is that mean?" Poseidon asked.

Olympus stared at Poseidon like, are-you-an-idiot-or-something.

"It _means_ old drunkard, Stupid Seaweed Brain!" Athena yelled.

"AND MY NAME IS NOT OWL HEAD FOR THE LAST TIME!" Athena yelled furiously at Poseidon.

"Oh shut up, Athena. It already been a couple millennia and you are still arguing about it? Athena not wise." Dionysus rolled his eyes.

Athena stuttered and try to think of good excuse, but failed.

Apollo's face became shock.

"AHA! AHA! AHA! ATHENA CANNOT MAKE A EXCUSE! BUUUUUUURN! HERMES YOU OWN ME SIXTY DRACHMAS!" Apollo show off his victory dance, while Hermes groaned.

"Oh come on! We are _still_ playing that game?! Seriously that was ten millennia years ago! _That_ when we are six hundred **(A/N: For this version it mean six years old. Aging took a couple millennia to reach twenty or thirty) (no offense Lord Zeus)** years old!" Hermes whined.

"Noooooope! Remember! We both swore in the River Styx! No breaking promise!" Apollo wicked grinned.

Hermes groaned.

"I hate my life." Hermes facepalmed and handed over sixty drachmas.

"AHA! SUCKER!" Apollo laughed at Hermes and once again show off his victory dance.

Demigods and Olympus (expect for Apollo obviously) heard Hermes saying _I hate you Apollo. I hate you so much. I'll make you regret this. I curse you._

Everyone shivered in fear and got a feeling Hermes is planning something far worse than Kronos planning to destroy Olympus.

 **The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to YancyAcademy.**

 **Fine, I told myself. Just fine.**

 **I was homesick.**

 **I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.**

Everyone gritted their teeth.

 **And yet... there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange.**

"Yikes! Grover won't be happy to hear about this!" Connor snickered.

 **I worried how he'd survive next year without me.**

"Very loyal." Hestia smiled.

 **I'd miss Latin class, too—Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well.**

 **As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for. I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.**

"Good." Annabeth said.

 **The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology across my dorm room.**

Annabeth and Athena become unhappy.

"HOW COULD YOU!" Athena yelled.

"ONLY IF YOU NOT DEAD, I COULD MAKE YOU READ A BOOK SEAWEED BRAIN!" Annabeth yelled and moment later she realized what she have said.

Annabeth covered her mouth.

"What do you mean by 'not dead'?" Poseidon asked with a concerned face.

Demigods look at Annabeth with a heartbroken and remembering the loss of their hero that have never been seen again.

"I-I need to tell them...Please." Annabeth begged.

Demigods nodded softly.

"That why we are sent here in the past." Jason said kindly.

Annabeth nodded and took a deep breath.

"You see..Percy Jackson is no ordinary hero...He is, Perseus Jackson, Son of Poseidon, Slayer of the Minotaur twice, Slayer of Medusa, Defeater of Ares, Retriever of Zeus' Master-bolt, Defeater of Scylla, Defeater of Polyphemus, Retriever of the Golden Fleece, Retriever of Thalia Grace daughter of Zeus, Defeater of the Nemean Lion, Defeater of Atlas, Savior of Artemis, Defeater of Antaeus, Participant of six quests, Defeater of Iapetus, Defeater of Hyperion, Defeater of Hades, Defeater of Kronos, Former Leader of Camp Half-Blood, Hero of Olympus twice, Survivor of Tartarus, Bearer of the sky, Wanderer of the Labyrinth, Ex-bearer of the Curse of Achilles, Defeater of Gaia alone **(Just in my version)** , Child of the Prophecy, Slayer of the Gorgons, Slayer of Polybotes, Slayer of the Chimera, Ex-Praetor to New Rome, Lost Hero of the Olympus, The Fallen Child of the Poseidon, and Boyfriend of Annabeth Chase." Annabeth said bravely.

Olympus gasped at Percy Jackson's title.

"H-he is the fallen child of mine?" Poseidon tried to keep his calmness.

Annabeth nodded slowly.

"And _The Lost Hero_ of the Olympus?" Athena added.

"I know...He was the legend's hero for ten years after since he defeated Titans and he refused godhood twice..For me. He was abundantly in love with me...Until one night from ten years ago, a few week after the Giant War he have never been seen again. We have searched and searched for him for ten years. It seems like that he haven't been existed. Since that day we honored him and the Poseidon's cabin now used for honoring." Annabeth started to cry.

"I loved him so much and Fates forbid me to have fun together! He kept disappearing front of my eyes!" Annabeth sobbed.

Poseidon was shocked.

"He was missing for ten years?!" Poseidon screamed.

Demigods nodded sadly.

"This is a curse of Gaia after Percy put Gaia to endless sleep. Gaia cursed him that he'll be lost in time forever.." Jason said sadly.

"No...No...No...You're telling that my child is destiny to die? He is only child that I ever had in fifty years." Poseidon started to cry and ocean is turning to gloomy like ocean will not be happy anymore.

"Lord Poseidon...He was a good hero that ever had in history." Thalia said.

"But...He is a hero that legend's have ever had." Jason corrected.

Poseidon turned into a puddle and started to mourning about his son.

Zeus and Hades look at Poseidon in a grief.

"Brother..." Hades whispered.

 **Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards. There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon, or Polydictes and Polydeuces.**

"That is going to be difficult." Thalia said.

"No kidding. This is a suicide!" Leo nodded with a agreement.

 **And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.**

"That is easy!" Jason said.

"Not for Greeks!" Thalia snapped.

 **I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.**

 **I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.**

 **I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.**

"Good." Athena said.

 **I'd never asked a teacher for help before.**

"Seriously?" Athena said.

 **Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave YancyAcademy with him thinking I hadn't tried.**

 **I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.**

 **I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said "... worried about Percy, sir."**

 **I froze.**

"Oh no." Demigods facepalmed.

 **I'm not usually an eavesdropper, but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.**

 **I inched closer.**

 **"... alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too—"**

 **"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."**

"Sorry Chir—I mean Mr. Brunner, I don't think that will happen anytime soon." Thalia chuckled.

 **"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline— "**

"Summer solstice?" Zeus asked and only heard the half line of Percy's title.

 **"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."**

 **"Sir, he saw her... ."**

 **"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."**

 **"Sir, I ... I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."**

"Grover..You hasn't failed. I mean my choice." Thalia said.

"What do you mean sis?" Jason asked.

"Spoilers." Thalia shrugged.

 **"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"**

 **The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.**

The God of Thief facepalmed.

 **Mr. Brunner went silent.**

 **My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.**

 **A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.**

 **I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.**

 **A few seconds later I heard a slow clop-clop-clop, like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.**

 **A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.**

 **Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."**

 **"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn ..."**

 **"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."**

 **"Don't remind me."**

 **The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.**

 **I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.**

"I know what is that mean." Leo said.

"Leo! He meant a few minutes you idiot!" Piper scolded.

"Meanie Beauty Queen." Leo muttered.

 **Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.**

 **Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.**

 **"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"**

 **I didn't answer.**

 **"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"**

 **"Just... tired."**

 **I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.**

Dionysus shakes his head.

"He can read your emotions." Dionysus said.

 **I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.**

 **But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.**

"You are." Annabeth said.

 **The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam—**

The Greeks Demigods gasped in horror.

"THAT IS A NIGHTMARE!" Connor shouted.

"DUDE! IT A FREAKIN' SUICIDE!" Leo screamed.

"THIS IS THE END OF THE WORLD!" Travis screamed in horror.

Jason shake his head.

"Dude you need to calm your ass down. This station is getting too ridiculous man." Jason threaded his hand through his blond hair.

 **—my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.**

 **For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.**

 **"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's ... it's for the best."**

 **His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.**

 **I mumbled, "Okay, sir."**

 **"I mean ..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."**

"Brunnnner." Annabeth scolded.

 **My eyes stung.**

 **Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.**

"That must be feel bad." Jason said.

 **"Right," I said, trembling.**

 **"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be—"**

 **"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."**

 **"Percy—"**

 **But I was already gone.**

 **On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.**

 **The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were rich juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.**

"Nobodies?!" Zeus thunderous.

"Brother, he doesn't know Greek and Roman Mythology is real." Hestia said.

 **They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.**

 **What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.**

 **"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."**

 **They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.**

 **The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.**

 **During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.**

 **Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.**

 **I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"**

"That. Will give him a heart attack." Thalia chuckled.

Demigods stared at her including Jason.

"What? I did that once." Thalia shrugged.

 **Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha—what do you mean?"**

 **I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.**

 **Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear?"**

 **"Oh ... not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"**

"Seriously? You mostly listened all of them." Jason laughed.

 **He winced. "Look, Percy ... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers ..."**

"Just like Nico." Thalia said thoughtfully.

"HEY!" Nico protected.

"Kidding."

 **"Grover—"**

 **"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and ..."**

 **"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."**

"So so so, true. We seriously got to teach Grover lying lesson." Travis said seriously.

 **His ears turned pink.**

 **From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer.**

 **The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:**

 **Grover Underwood**

 **Keeper**

 **Half-Blood Hill**

 **Long Island, New York**

 **(800) 009-0009**

"Seriously Dionysus?" Zeus raise his eyebrows.

"What? I just love them. It fun to see Demigods expression." Dionysus said dreamily.

 **"What's Half—"**

 **"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um ... summer address."**

 **My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.**

 **"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."**

Demigods chuckled.

"Not quite." Annabeth said.

"It a beautiful camp." Piper added.

 **He nodded. "Or ... or if you need me."**

 **"Why would I need you?"**

"Rude!" Hestia scolded.

 **It came out harsher than I meant it to.**

"Good."

 **Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you."**

 **I stared at him.**

 **All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. And here he was acting like he was the one who defended me.**

"Aww..." Aphrodite squealed.

 **"Grover," I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?"**

"Hades's hellish monsters. That what." Annabeth said sarcastically.

 **There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.**

 **After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.**

 **We were on a stretch of country road—no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.**

 **The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of bloodred cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.**

"It cannot be.." Athena mumbled.

 **I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.**

 **All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.**

"THE FATES!" Olympus and Demigods shouted in horror.

"That means...Percy...Oh Gods." Annabeth gasped and started to crying.

 **The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.**

"Oh Gods no." Annabeth trembling in fear.

 **I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.**

 **"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man—"**

 **"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"**

 **"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"**

"Not funny Percy. Not funny at all." Annabeth said.

 **"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."**

No comments and the room is full of tension.

 **The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.**

 **"We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."**

 **"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."**

"GO PERSEUS!" Poseidon shouted in puddle-language.

 **"Come on!'" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.**

"OH GODS DAMMIT PERCY!" Poseidon cursed in puddle-language.

Olympus and Demigods facepalmed.

 **Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that snip across four lanes of traffic. Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for—Sasquatch or Godzilla.**

 **At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.**

 **The passengers cheered.**

 **"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

 **Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.**

 **Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.**

 **"Grover?"**

 **"Yeah?"**

 **"What are you not telling me?"**

 **He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"**

 **"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like ... Mrs. Dodds, are they?"**

 **His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw."**

 **"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."**

 **He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost—older.**

 **He said, "You saw her snip the cord."**

 **"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.**

"It is!" Demigods shouted.

 **"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."**

"Grooover!" Thalia said.

 **"What last time?"**

 **"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."**

 **"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"**

 **"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."**

 **This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.**

 **"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.**

 **No answer.**

 **"Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"**

"Yes."

 **He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.**

"Finished." Frank said.

"Who want to read next?" Zeus asked.

"Me." Jason said.

" **Grover unexpectedly loses his pants**." Jason read out loud.


	4. Grover unexpectedly lose his pants

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

Death Fury: Awww thanks! :) Your making my heart smile~! ^^

Godess bubbles: Oh! I will! :) I really loves to write! There is no way that I could quit writing~!

Lintsu13: I'm very glad that you loved it! I will always keep going~!

Please reviews again soon~! That'll make me feel better and write faster~!

* * *

"...What the..." Leo exclaimed.

"Grover lost his pant?!" Frank exclaimed.

"That is malapropos!" Piper shouted.

"No way! Grover won't do that!" Thalia shouted at them.

"Oooh...Right..."

 **Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.**

"RUDE!" Hestia and Hera scolded.

 **I know, I know. It was rude.**

"That's right!" Hestia nodded firmly.

 **But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man, muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to he sixth grade?"**

Thalia shakes her head with a agreement.

 **Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom. Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.**

 **"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," I told the driver.**

 **A word about my mother, before you meet her.**

"Mrs. Jackson is the best mother on Earth!" Thalia shouted.

"SHE IS A GODDESS!" Nico yelled and every Olympus stared at Nico.

"What? It's true." Nico said.

"She is badass mother that I have ever seen." Clarisse said and remembered the Titan War that Sally used the gun.

 **Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck.**

"What?!" Hera shouted.

 **Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five—**

Everyone glared at Zeus.

Hera walked up to her husband and smacked him and so the other Goddesses and Poseidon.

"Zeus, you bastard! SHE WAS FIVE YEARS OLD WHEN HER PARENTS DIED IN THE FREAKING PLANE CRASH!" Hera screamed as smacking her husband.

"What *smack* I *smack* do?! *smack* this *smack* is* smack* from *smack* the *smack* future!" Zeus cried.

"I DON'T CARE! YOU WILL PAY FOR IT!" Hera screamed as smacking harder to her husband.

"WHAT *smack* IS *smack* THIS?! *smack* ZEUS *smack* SLAPPING *smack* DAY?! *smack*"

 **—and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her.**

"How could him?!" Hestia shouted.

 **She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.**

"I should give her my blessing." Athena mumbled.

 **The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.**

"EVERYONE COVERED YOUR EARS!" Hades shouted and, everyone covered theirs ears.

"Awwwwwwwwwww!" Aphrodite squealed as loud it could make you deaf.

 **I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile.**

Demigods become jealous.

 **My mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad. She has no pictures.**

"Stupid law..." Poseidon muttered softly and everyone agreed.

 **See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.**

 **Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.**

"Wow. Not a lie. Uncle P, I like your taste of woman." Hermes said.

 **She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.**

Hestia cooed.

 **Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. When I was young, I nicknamed him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.**

Aphrodite and her children wrinkled her nose in a disgust.

 **Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along ... well, when I came home is a good example.**

 **I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.**

 **Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."**

 **"Where's my mom?"**

 **"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"**

"THAT BASTARD!" Hestia shrieked.

Everyone stared at Hestia in shock. It their first time that Hestia use such a foul language.

"HOW COULD HIM! I CURSE HIM! I CURSE HIM!" Hestia vowed with a red face.

 **That was it. No Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?**

 **Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.**

"GROSS! GROSS!" Aphrodite shrieked.

 **He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.**

Poseidon become full-rage-mode. "THAT SON OF !#?%!"

"POSEIDON!" Zeus warned.

"IF HE TOUCH MY SON! I WILL MURDER HIM IN A PAINFUL WAY! ANNABETH DID HE HURT HIM?" Poseidon asked and his eye of the sea become violent and deadly wave.

"W-well...Um..." Annabeth's voice trailed off.

"TELL ME NOW!"

Annabeth sighed.

"Yes."

"SON OF !#?%! FOR HOW LONG?!"

"Ever since he three years old. Abusing for nine years...Whenever his mother wasn't home." Annabeth said quietly, but everyone heard it.

"THAT BLAST THAT MAN!" Aphrodite screamed.

"No. He is not a man. He is a beast. I swear that I will hunt that beast down and I'll have his head." Artemis growled and vowed.

Poseidon is no longer a calm-funny-careful Poseidon everymore...He want to kill him and banished him to Tartarus.

"I WILL !#?%! HIM!" Poseidon roared.

Everyone was at the corner even Zeus and Hades.

"Oh Gods." Demeter muttered.

"This. Is why that you never ever want to get Poseidon pissed. He is very powerful, when he is pissed even he is powerful than Zeus!" Hades warned.

"Jason start reading. Quick. Before he become murder the Mortals." Piper said quickly.

Jason nodded agreement.

 **"I don't have any cash," I told him.**

 **He raised a greasy eyebrow.**

 **Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.**

Athena jaw dropped. _No way...Stupid Seaweed Brain got a smart-ass lover!? Di immortal._

 **"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"**

"HE CAN DO MATH?! Wow!" Jason mocked.

 **Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy. "Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."**

"At least that he nice.." Aphrodite muttered.

 **"Am I right?" Gabe repeated.**

 **Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.**

Aphrodite and Aphrodite's children wrinkled their nose in a disgust.

 **"Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."  
**

 **"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"**

"Screw Gabe." Annabeth muttered.

 **I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study." He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.**

 **I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.**

"Is he always been sarcastic?" Jason asked.

Annabeth and Clarisse nodded.

"Always."

 **Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.**

 **But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic—how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone—something—was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.**

 **Then I heard my mom's voice. "Percy?"**

 **She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted.**

"Aww..." Aphrodite squealed.

Everyone smiled.

 **My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room. Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old.**

"So sweet." Hestia smiled kindly.

 **When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.**

Everyone gritted their teeth, when Percy mention Gabe.

 **"Oh, Percy." She hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!"**

 **Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did when I came home.**

The Stoll drooling all over.

"LUCKILY!" The Stolls shouted.

 **We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in my letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing all right?**

Goddess of family smiled.

 **I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.**

 **From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally—how about some bean dip, huh?"**

Everyone gritted their teeth and Poseidon went full-rage-mode again.

 **I gritted my teeth.**

 **My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.**

"Or a God." Poseidon said wisely.

 **For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at YancyAcademy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked YancyAcademy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself. I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad.**

 **Until that trip to the museum ...**

 **"What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"**

 **"No, Mom."**

"DON'T LIE TO YOUR MOTHER!" Hestia and Hera scolded.

 **I felt bad lying. I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid.**

"No! It not stupid!" Annabeth said.

 **She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but she didn't push me.**

 **"I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."**

 **My eyes widened. "Montauk?"**

Poseidon smiled.

 **"Three nights—same cabin."**

 **"When?"**

 **She smiled. "As soon as I get changed."**

 **I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.**

"THAT BASTARD!" Poseidon screamed.

Everyone agreed.

 **Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"**

"BASTARD!" Poseidon growled.

 **I wanted to punch him, but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.**

 **"I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip."**

 **Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"**

 **"I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go."**

"Ooh he better." Poseidon growled.

 **"Of course he will," my mom said evenly. "Your stepfather is just worried about money. That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works."**

 **Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip ... it comes out of your clothes budget, right?"**

Aphrodite face become crimson.

"EVERYONE COVERED YOUR EARS!" Hades shouted.

Everyone covered their ears.

"HOW COULD YOU! I HAVE ENOUGH! I CURSE YOU! I CURSE YOU! I WILL MAKE YOU A FATTEST BASTARD ON EARTH AND YOU WILL NEVER FALL IN LOVE AGAIN!" Aphrodite yelled furiously.

 **"Yes, honey," my mother said.**

 **"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."**

 **"We'll be very careful."**

 **Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip ... And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game."**

 **Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week.**

"DO IT!" Everyone shouted.

 **But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad.**

 **Why did she put up with this guy? I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought?**

 **"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."**

 **Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.**

 **"Yeah, whatever," he decided.**

 **He went back to his game.**

 **"Thank you, Percy," my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about... whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"**

 **For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes—the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride—as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air.**

 **But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip.**

 **An hour later we were ready to leave.**

 **Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car. He kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking—and more important, his '78 Camaro—for the whole weekend.**

"This is bullshit. Worrying about your damn car? And your wife is making you seven-layer dip for you! Selfish bastard." Artemis growled.

 **"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch."**

"Like he'll be driving." Jason growled.

 **Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.**

"Than, I will sent sixty seagulls to you." Zeus growled.

 **Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain. As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe. The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the staircase as if he'd been shot from a cannon. Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.**

Everyone awed.

 **I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it.**

"Good." Hestia smiled kindly.

 **Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.**

"Seriously?"

 **I loved the place.**

"Oh."

 **We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met my dad.**

Aphrodite squealed.

 **As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea.**

 **We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.**

"What up with the blue food?" Leo asked.

Jason smirked.

 **I guess I should explain the blue food.**

"Oh."

 **See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This—along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano—was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me.**

"Buuurn!" Connor snickered.

"That means, she hate you Gabe!" Travis added.

Everyone grinned.

 **When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.**

 **Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk—my father. Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.**

Aphrodite cooed.

Poseidon blushed.

 **"He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes."**

 **Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."**

 **I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.**

"Still be proud." Poseidon smiled.

 **"How old was I?" I asked. "I mean ... when he left?"**

 **She watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."**

 **"But... he knew me as a baby."**

 **"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."**

 **I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember ... something about my father. A warm glow. A smile.**

The Demigods felt jealous of Percy, that his father is visiting his son.

 **I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still, I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never even seen me ...**

 **I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.**

Poseidon look down ashamedly.

 **"Are you going to send me away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"**

 **She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.**

 **"I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think ... I think we'll have to do something."**

 **"Because you don't want me around?"**

"NO!" All the Goddesses shouted.

 **I regretted the words as soon as they were out.**

"Good." Hera said.

 **My mom's eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezed it tight. "Oh, Percy, no. I—I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."**

 **Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said—that it was best for me to leave Yancy.**

 **"Because I'm not normal," I said.**

"True." Thalia said.

 **"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought YancyAcademy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."**

 **"Safe from what?"**

"Hellish monsters." Annabeth said sarcastically.

 **She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me—all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget.**

 **During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.**

"You sent a Cyclops?" Zeus said.

 **Before that—a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.**

Everyone jaw dropped.

"J-just Like Hercules!" The Olympus exclaimed.

Piper and Jason scowled at the word 'Hercules'.

 **In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.**

 **I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. But I couldn't make myself tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.**

 **"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy—the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can't stand to do it."**

 **"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"**

 **"Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."**

"The best place on Earth!" Thalia said.

 **My head was spinning. Why would my dad—who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born— talk to my mom about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?**

 **"I'm sorry, Percy," she said, seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I—I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."**

 **"For good? But if it's only a summer camp ..."**

"It can be." Annabeth said.

 **She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.**

 **That night I had a vivid dream.**

The Demigods groaned.

 **It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf. The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.**

 **I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and I screamed, No!**

"AHA! I win! Boo-yah Poseidon! IN YOUR FAAAACE!" Zeus show off his victory dance, while Poseidon grumbled.

 **I woke with a start.**

 **Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.**

 **With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."**

 **I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten.**

"What exactly you forgot?" Apollo asked.

Suddenly Apollo got blasted with cold water.

 **Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.**

 **Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice—someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.**

 **My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.**

 **Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't... he wasn't exactly Grover.**

 **"Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"**

 **My mother looked at me in terror—not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.**

 **"Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"**

 **I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing.**

 **"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" he yelled. "**

"Language!" Hera scolded.

 **It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?"**

 **I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on—and where his legs should be ... where his legs should be ...**

 **My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: "Percy. Tell me now!"**

 **I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.**

 **She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. Both of you. Go!"**

 **Grover ran for the Camaro—but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked.**

 **Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves.**

"Oooh!" Leo realized.

"Finished." Jason said.

"Who want to read next?" Zeus asked.

"Me." Apollo said.

Jason handed over the book to the Sun God.

" **My mother teaches me bullfighting**." Apollo read out loud.


	5. My mother teaches me bullfighting

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

* * *

"Oh dear." Poseidon muttered as his hair become grey.

"What kind of mother teaches their son bullfighting?!" Leo exclaimed.

 **We tore through the night along dark country roads. Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the windshield. I didn't know how my mom could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas.**

 **Every time there was a flash of lightning, I looked at Grover sitting next to me in the backseat and I wondered if I'd gone insane, or if he was wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants.**

"Oooh! Grover won't be happy to hear about that!" Connor said.

 **But, no, the smell was one I remembered from kindergarten field trips to the petting zoo— lanolin, like from wool. The smell of a wet barnyard animal.**

"Gross!" Aphrodite shrieked.

 **All I could think to say was, "So, you and my mom... know each other?"**

 **Graver's eyes flitted to the rearview mirror, though there were no cars behind us. "Not exactly," he said. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you."**

"STALKER!" Demigods shouted.

 **"Watching me?"**

 **"Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added hastily. "I am your friend."**

"True." Thalia said.

 **"Urn ... what are you, exactly?"**

 **"That doesn't matter right now."**

 **"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey—"**

"Grover won't be happy to hear about that." Dionysus said.

 **Groever let out a sharp, throaty "Blaa-ha-ha!"**

 **I'd heard him make that sound before, but I'd always assumed it was a nervous laugh. Now I realized it was more of an irritated bleat.**

 **"Goat!" he cried.**

 **"What?"**

 **"I'm a goat from the waist down."**

 **"You just said it didn't matter."**

"Yeah! You said that it didn't matter!" Leo said.

 **"Blaa-ha-ha! There are satyrs who would trample you underhoof for such an insult!"**

"It true." Dionysus warned.

 **"Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like ... Mr. Brunner's myths?"**

 **"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a myth, Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"**

 **"So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds!"**

"Boys." Artemis muttered.

 **"Of course."**

 **"Then why—"**

 **"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said, like that should be perfectly obvious. "We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are."**

 **"Who I—wait a minute, what do you mean?"**

 **The weird bellowing noise rose up again somewhere behind us, closer than before. Whatever was chasing us was still on our trail.**

 **"Percy," my mom said, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety."**

 **"Safety from what? Who's after me?"**

"Monsters." Annabeth said.

 **"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions."**

"GROOOVER!" Demigods scolded.

 **"Grover!"**

 **"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"**

 **I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening, but I couldn't do it. I knew this wasn't a dream. I had no imagination. I could never dream up something this weird.**

 **My mom made a hard left. We swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences.**

"Camp." Thalia said dreamily.

 **"Where are we going?" I asked.**

 **"The summer camp I told you about." My mother's voice was tight; she was trying for my sake not to be scared. "The place your father wanted to send you."**

 **"The place you didn't want me to go."**

 **"Please, dear," my mother begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."**

 **"Because some old ladies cut yarn."**

"They are not old ladies." Zeus warned.

 **"Those weren't old ladies," Grover said. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means—the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to ... when someone's about to die."**

 **"Whoa. You said 'you.'"**

 **"No I didn't. I said 'someone.'"**

 **"You meant 'you.' As in me."**

 **"I meant you, like 'someone.' Not you, you."**

"I'm confused." Leo said.

 **"Boys!" my mom said.**

Artemis agreement.

 **She pulled the wheel hard to the right, and I got a glimpse of a figure she'd swerved to avoid—a dark fluttering shape now lost behind us in the storm.**

 **"What was that?" I asked.**

 **"We're almost there," my mother said, ignoring my question. "Another mile. Please. Please. Please."**

"Oh yes please please." Poseidon prayed.

 **I didn't know where there was, but I found myself leaning forward in the car, anticipating, wanting us to arrive.**

 **Outside, nothing but rain and darkness—the kind of empty countryside you get way out on the tip of Long Island. I thought about Mrs. Dodds and the moment when she'd changed into the thing with pointed teeth and leathery wings. My limbs went numb from delayed shock. She really hadn't been human. She'd meant to kill me.**

 **Then I thought about Mr. Brunner ... and the sword he had thrown me. Before I could ask Grover about that, the hair rose on the back of my neck. There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling boom!, and our car exploded.**

"WHAT?!" Poseidon screamed.

 **I remember feeling weightless, like I was being crushed, fried, and hosed down all at the same time.**

 **I peeled my forehead off the back of the driver's seat and said, "Ow."**

 **"Percy!" my mom shouted.**

 **"I'm okay... ."**

 **I tried to shake off the daze. I wasn't dead. The car hadn't really exploded. We'd swerved into a ditch. Our driver's-side doors were wedged in the mud. The roof had cracked open like an eggshell and rain was pouring in.**

 **Lightning.**

"ZEUS!" Poseidon snarled and used his trident to drown Zeus.

"POSEIDON STOP! YOUR KILLING HIM!" Hera screamed.

"HE IS IMMORTAL!" Poseidon reminded.

"BUT STILL!" Hera screamed.

Poseidon drowned Zeus.

Zeus won't wake up until the next chapter.

 **That was the only explanation. We'd been blasted right off the road. Next to me in the backseat was a big motionless lump. "Grover!"**

 **He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. I shook his furry hip, thinking, No! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're my best friend and I don't want you to die!**

"Too loyal." Hestia smiled.

Athena look concerned.

 **Then he groaned "Food," and I knew there was hope.**

Everyone laughed.

 **"Percy," my mother said, "we have to ..." Her voice faltered.**

 **I looked back. In a flash of lightning, through the mud-spattered rear windshield, I saw a figure lumbering toward us on the shoulder of the road. The sight of it made my skin crawl. It was a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player. He seemed to be holding a blanket over his head. His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His upraised hands made it look like he had horns.**

"Oh no." Poseidon mumbled.

 **I swallowed hard. "Who is—"**

 **"Percy," my mother said, deadly serious. "Get out of the car."**

 **"Climb out the passenger's side!" my mother told me. "Percy—you have to run. Do you see that big tree?"**

"Yay..I'm mentioned." Thalia mumbled quietly.

 **"What?"**

 **Another flash of lightning, and through the smoking hole in the roof I saw the tree she meant: a huge, White House Christmas tree-sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill.**

 **"That's the property line," my mom said. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door."**

 **"Mom, you're coming too."**

 **Her face was pale, her eyes as sad as when she looked at the ocean.**

 **"No!" I shouted. "You are coming with me. Help me carry Grover."**

Athena gasped. _I believed that I have found his fatal flaw. His fatal flaw is_ _excessive/personal loyalty. He will risk his life for anyone: his friends, family, strangers, and sometimes even his enemies..Very..Risky._

 **"Food!" Grover moaned, a little louder.**

 **The man with the blanket on his head kept coming toward us, making his grunting, snorting noises. As he got closer, I realized he couldn't be holding a blanket over his head, because his hands—huge meaty hands—were swinging at his sides. There was no blanket. Meaning the bulky, fuzzy mass that was too big to be his head ... was his head. And the points that looked like horns ...**

 **"He doesn't want us," my mother told me. "He wants you. Besides, I can't cross the property line."**

 **"But..."**

 **"We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please."**

 **I got mad, then—mad at my mother, at Grover the goat—**

"That Thalia's nickname for Grover." Nico said.

Thalia pouted.

"He have no right to steal my nickname for Grover." Thalia pouted.

 **—at the thing with horns that was lumbering toward us slowly and deliberately like, like a bull.**

 **I climbed across Grover and pushed the door open into the rain. "We're going together. Come on, Mom."**

 **"I told you—"**

 **"Mom! I am not leaving you. Help me with Grover."**

 **I didn't wait for her answer. I scrambled outside, dragging Grover from the car. He was surprisingly light, but I couldn't have carried him very far if my mom hadn't come to my aid.**

 **Together, we draped Grover's arms over our shoulders and started stumbling uphill through wet waist-high grass.**

 **Glancing backr, I got my first clear look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of Muscle Man magazine—bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin. He wore no clothes except underwear—I mean, bright white Fruit of the Looms—**

The room went full of laughers.

"Insane monster!" Leo cracked up.

 **—which would've looked funny, except that the top half of his body was so scary. Coarse brown hair started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders.**

 **His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns—enormous black-and-white horns with points you just couldn't get from an electric sharpener.**

 **I recognized the monster, all right. He had been in one of the first stories Mr. Brunner told us. But he couldn't be real.**

 **I blinked the rain out of my eyes. "That's—"**

 **"Pasiphae's son," my mother said. "I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you."**

 **"But he's the Min—"**

 **"Don't say his name," she warned. "Names have power."**

"Smart woman." Athena said wisely.

 **The pine tree was still way too far—a hundred yards uphill at least.**

 **I glanced behind me again.**

 **The bull-man hunched over our car, looking in the windows—or not looking, exactly. More like snuffling, nuzzling. I wasn't sure why he bothered, since we were only about fifty feet away.**

 **"Food?" Grover moaned.**

 **"Shhh," I told him. "Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?"**

 **"His sight and hearing are terrible," she said. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough."**

 **As if on cue, the bull-man bellowed in rage. He picked up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning. He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded.**

 **Not a scratch, I remembered Gabe saying.**

 **Oops.**

"THAT WHAT YOU GOT BASTARD!" Poseidon laughed so hard.

It took about fifteen minutes to calm down.

 **"Percy," my mom said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way— directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"**

 **"How do you know all this?"**

 **"I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me."**

Mother of Gods frowned. "That wasn't selfish."

 **"Keeping me near you? But—"**

 **Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping uphill.**

 **He'd smelled us.**

Poseidon's hair become grey.

 **The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and Grover wasn't getting any lighter.**

 **The bull-man closed in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of us.**

 **My mother must've been exhausted, but she shouldered Grover. "Go, Percy! Separate! Remember what I said."**

 **I didn't want to split up, but I had the feeling she was right—it was our only chance. I sprinted to the left, turned, and saw the creature bearing down on me. His black eyes glowed with hate. He reeked like rotten meat.**

Aphrodite and Aphrodite wrinkled their nose in a disgust.

 **He lowered his head and charged, those razor-sharp horns aimed straight at my chest.**

 **The fear in my stomach made me want to bolt, but that wouldn't work. I could never outrun this thing. So I held my ground, and at the last moment, I jumped to the side.**

 **The bull-man stormed past like a freight train, then bellowed with frustration and turned, but not toward me this time, toward my mother, who was setting Grover down in the grass.**

 **We'd reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side I could see a valley, just as my mother had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain. But that was half a mile away. We'd never make it.**

Poseidon held his trident tighter.

 **The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eyeing my mother, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover.**

 **"Run, Percy!" she told me. "I can't go any farther. Run!"**

 **But I just stood there, frozen in fear, as the monster charged her. She tried to sidestep, as she'd told me to do, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air.**

"NOOOO!" Poseidon screamed and started to cry.

 **"Mom!"**

 **She caught my eyes, managed to choke out one last word: "Go!"**

 **Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around my mother's neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply ... gone.**

 **"No!"**

 **Anger replaced my fear. Newfound strength burned in my limbs—the same rush of energy I'd gotten when Mrs. Dodds grew talons.**

 **The bull-man bore down on Grover, who lay helpless in the grass. The monster hunched over, snuffling my best friend, as if he were about to lift Grover up and make him dissolve too.**

 **I couldn't allow that.**

"Stubborn." Demeter said.

 **I stripped off my red rain jacket.**

 **"Hey!" I screamed, waving the jacket, running to one side of the monster. "Hey, stupid! Ground beef!"**

"Nice insult." Apollo grinned.

 **"Raaaarrrrr!" The monster turned toward me, shaking his meaty fists.**

 **I had an idea—a stupid idea, but better than no idea at all. I put my back to the big pine tree and waved my red jacket in front of the bull-man, thinking I'd jump out of the way at the last moment.**

 **But it didn't happen like that.**

 **The bull-man charged too fast, his arms out to grab me whichever way I tried to dodge.**

 **Time slowed down.**

The Titan War survivors shuddered and remembered about Kronos and Luke.

 **My legs tensed. I couldn't jump sideways, so I leaped straight up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on his neck.**

"H-how?" Hermes stammered.

 **How did I do that? I didn't have time to figure it out. A millisecond later, the monster's head slammed into the tree and the impact nearly knocked my teeth out.**

Thalia winced.

 **The bull-man staggered around, trying to shake me. I locked my arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. The rain was in my eyes. The smell of rotten meat burned my nostrils.**

"That nasty." Piper shrieked.

 **The monster shook himself around and bucked like a rodeo bull. He should have just backed up into the tree and smashed me flat, but I was starting to realize that this thing had only one gear: forward.**

 **Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass. I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but the way I was getting tossed around, if I opened my mouth I'd bite my own tongue off.**

The Stolls chuckled nervously.

 **"Food!" Grover moaned.**

 **The bull-man wheeled toward him, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. I thought about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light, and rage filled me like high-octane fuel. I got both hands around one horn and I pulled backward with all my might. The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then—snap!**

Olympus and Demigods jaw dropped.

 **The bull-man screamed and flung me through the air. I landed flat on my back in the grass. My head smacked against a rock. When I sat up, my vision was blurry, but I had a horn in my hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife.**

 **The monster charged.**

 **Without thinking, I rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the monster barreled past, I drove the broken horn straight into his side, right up under his furry rib cage.**

 **The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate—not like my mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart.**

 **The monster was gone.**

 **The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. My head felt like it was splitting open. I was weak and scared and trembling with grief I'd just seen my mother vanish. I wanted to lie down and cry, but there was Grover, needing my help, so I managed to haul him up and stagger down into the valley, toward the lights of the farmhouse. I was crying, calling for my mother, but I held on to Grover—I wasn't going to let him go.**

"Very loyal." Hestia smiled.

 **The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light, and the stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man and a pretty girl, her blond hair curled like a princess's.**

Annabeth blushed.

 **They both looked down at me, and the girl said, "He's the one. He must be."**

Aphrodite smirked.

"What is that?"

"Isn't what you are thinking." Annabeth said quickly.

 **"Silence, Annabeth," the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."**

"Finished." Apollo said.

"Who want to read next?" Hera asked.

"Me." Leo said.

Sun God handed over the book to the Leo.

" **I play pinochle with a horse.** " Leo said out loud.


	6. I play pinochle with a horse

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

* * *

 **I had weird dreams full of barnyard animals. Most of them wanted to kill me. The rest wanted food.**

"What kind of Demigod dream is that?!" Leo raise his eyebrows.

"*laugh* This *laugh* got *laugh* to *laugh* be *laugh* the *laugh* first *laugh* Demigod *laugh* that *laugh* I *laugh* ever *laugh* heard!" Thalia said between laughter.

"No kidding." Jason added.

 **I must've woken up several times, but what I heard and saw made no sense, so I just passed out again.**

"*cough* Wow." Leo coughed.

 **I remember lying in a soft bed, being spoon-fed something that tasted like buttered popcorn, only it was pudding. The girl with curly blond hair hovered over me, smirking as she scraped drips off my chin with the spoon.**

Annabeth blushed furiously.

"Oooooh someone is in loooove!~" Goddess of Love grinned.

"S-shut up!" Annabeth stuttered in embarrassment.

Aphrodite couldn't help with a mischievous on her face.

This is going to be fun for her getting Percy and Annabeth together!~

 **When she saw my eyes open, she asked, "What will happen at the summer solstice?"**

"Seriously, Annabeth?" Jason glared at Annabeth.

"Sorry sorry sorry! He was mumbling in his sleep about the summer solstice, and I thought he knew that something isn't right on Olympus." Annabeth held up her hands in a defeated-style.

 **I managed to croak, "What?"**

 **She looked around, as if afraid someone would overhear. "What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"**

 **"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I don't..."**

 **Somebody knocked on the door, and the girl quickly filled my mouth with pudding.**

"That is a really good way to make the mans to shut up." Artemis said thoughtfully.

"HEY!" All the male god protected.

"Kidding." Artemis lied.

 **The next time I woke up, the girl was gone.**

"Awwww! He misses you!" Aphrodite cooed.

Annabeth blushed.

 **A husky blond dude, like a surfer, stood in the corner of the bedroom keeping watch over me. He had blue eyes— at least a dozen of them—on his cheeks, his forehead, the backs of his hands.**

 **When I finally came around for good, there was nothing weird about my surroundings, except that they were nicer than I was used to. I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries. There was a blanket over my legs, a pillow behind my neck. All that was great, but my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest. My tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt.**

The Demigods and Olympus winced.

"Gods! That must been hell!" Leo exclaimed.

"Language!" Hera scolded.

 **On the table next to me was a tall drink. It looked like iced apple juice, with a green straw and a paper parasol stuck through a maraschino cherry.**

 **My hand was so weak I almost dropped the glass once I got my fingers around it.**

 **"Careful," a familiar voice said.**

 **Grover was leaning against the porch railing, looking like he hadn't slept in a week. Under one arm, he cradled a shoe box. He was wearing blue jeans, Converse hi-tops and a bright orange T-shirt that said CAMPHALF-BLOOD. Just plain old Grover, Not the goat boy.**

 **So maybe I'd had a nightmare. Maybe my mom was okay. We were still on vacation, and we'd stopped here at this big house for some reason. And ...**

Poseidon winced.

 **"You saved my life," Grover said. "I... well, the least I could do ... I went back to the hill. I thought you might want this."**

 **Reverently, he placed the shoe box in my lap.**

 **Inside was a black-and-white bull's horn, the base jagged from being broken off, the tip splattered with dried blood. It hadn't been a nightmare.**

 **"The Minotaur," I said.**

 **"Urn, Percy, it isn't a good idea—"**

 **"That's what they call him in the Greek myths, isn't it?" I demanded. "The Minotaur. Half man, half bull."**

 **Grover shifted uncomfortably. "You've been out for two days. How much do you remember?"**

 **"My mom. Is she really ..."**

"Oh yes, he was taken by my 'bastard' brother." Poseidon glared at unconscious Hades.

 **He looked down.**

 **I stared across the meadow. There were groves of trees, a winding stream, acres of strawberries spread out under the blue sky. The valley was surrounded by rolling hills, and the tallest one, directly in front of us, was the one with the huge pine tree on top. Even that looked beautiful in the sunlight.**

 **My mother was gone. The whole world should be black and cold. Nothing should look beautiful.**

 **"I'm sorry," Grover sniffled. "I'm a failure. I'm—I'm the worst satyr in the world."**

"You aren't!" Thalia shouted.

"You found the four child of the big three of the century." Nico added.

"We probably won't survive, without you." The Stolls said remembering Grover's first panic ( **you know what I meant, right?** )

"You have found the Great God Pan!" Annabeth smiled sadly remembering about the Great God Pan's death.

Hermes stand up straighter and he heard 'found the Great God Pan'.

Hermes was about to ask about his son. But he knew judging my son's and Annie's—or Anna's—Ah! Whatever is her name is expression that is was too late to awaken his son from sleep.

Hermes look down with a sad face.

Rembering about his son last word,

' _Father...Someday a brave satyr will_ _reclaim my throne of the wild and I will passed down my throne to a bravest satyr whom will awaken from my sleep.'_

"HERMES!"

"Wha—what?" Hermes snapped.

"I said, that are you alright?" Demeter said.

"Oh! Uh—yes." Hermes lied smoothly.

 **He moaned, stomping his foot so hard it came off. I mean, the Converse hi-top came off. The inside was filled with Styrofoam, except for a hoof-shaped hole.**

 **"Oh, Styx!" he mumbled.**

 **Thunder rolled across the clear sky.**

"Dramatic." Poseidon muttered.

 **As he struggled to get his hoof back in the fake foot, I thought, Well, that settles it.**

 **HGrover was a satyr. I was ready to bet that if I shaved his curly brown hair, I'd find tiny horns on his head. But I was too miserable to care that satyrs existed, or even minotaurs. All that meant was my mom really had been squeezed into nothingness, dissolved into yellow light.**

 **I was alone. An orphan. I would have to live with ... Smelly Gabe?**

"Fuc—"

"LANGUAGE!" Hera warned Thalia.

Thalia extended her middle finger toward at Queen of Gods.

Hera look offended.

"How dare you!"

"HERA! I SAID, FUCK OFF!" Thalia roared.

"HOW DARE YOU! I CAN TURN YOU INTO—"

"A goat!" Thalia mocked.

"You little—"

"LADIES! Ladies, let break it off..." Zeus said.

"Brother? Since when, that you are up?" Poseidon asked.

Zeus laughed nervously.

"Um, when my daughter did a middle finger at my wife." Zeus said nervously and still hasn't get over his hellish trauma of drowning by his own bad-tempered brother.

 **No. That would never happen. I would live on the streets first. I would pretend I was seventeen and join the army. I'd do something.**

The Demigods snickered.

 **Grover was still sniffling. The poor kid—poor goat, satyr, whatever—looked as if he expected to be hit.**

 **I said, "It wasn't your fault."**

 **"Yes, it was. I was supposed to protect you."**

 **"Did my mother ask you to protect me?"**

 **"No. But that's my job. I'm a keeper. At least... I was."**

 **"But why ..." I suddenly felt dizzy, my vision swimming.**

 **"Don't strain yourself," Grover said. "Here." He helped me hold my glass and put the straw to my lips.**

 **I recoiled at the taste, because I was expecting apple juice. It wasn't that at all. It was chocolate-chip cookies. Liquid cookies. And not just any cookies—my mom's homemade blue chocolate-chip cookies, buttery and hot, with the chips still melting. Drinking it, my whole body felt warm and good, full of energy. My grief didn't go away, but I felt as if my mom had just brushed her hand against my cheek, given me a cookie the way she used to when I was small, and told me everything was going to be okay.**

Hestia cooed.

"She should have my blessing." Hestia said firmly.

 **Before I knew it, I'd drained the glass. I stared into it, sure I'd just had a warm drink, but the ice cubes hadn't even melted.**

 **"Was it good?" Grover asked.**

 **I nodded.**

 **"What did it taste like?" He sounded so wistful, I felt guilty.**

 **"Sorry," I said. "I should've let you taste."**

"HELL NO!" Jason blurted.

Dionysus snorted. "If you want to burned to death."

 **His eyes got wide. "No! That's not what I meant. I just... wondered."**

 **"Chocolate-chip cookies," I said. "My mom's. Homemade."**

 **He sighed. "And how do you feel?"**

 **"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards."**

"That. Will be awesome." Leo said wisely.

 **"That's good," he said. "That's good. I don't think you could risk drinking any more of that stuff."**

 **"What do you mean?"**

 **He took the empty glass from me gingerly, as if it were dynamite, and set it back on the table. "Come on. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."**

 **The porch wrapped all the way around the farmhouse.**

 **My legs felt wobbly, trying to walk that far. Grover offered to carry the Minotaur horn, but I held on to it. I'd paid for that souvenir the hard way. I wasn't going to let it go.**

 **As we came around the opposite end of the house, I caught my breath.**

 **We must've been on the north shore of Long Island, because on this side of the house, the valley marched all the way up to the water, which glittered about a mile in the distance. Between here and there, I simply couldn't process everything I was seeing. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture—an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena—except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and, unless I was hallucinating, some of their horses had wings.**

 **Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. The blond-haired girl who'd spoon-fed me popcorn-flavored pudding was leaning on the porch rail next to them.**

 **The man facing me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. He looked like those paintings of baby angels— what do you call them, hubbubs? No, cherubs. That's it. He looked like a cherub who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park. He wore a tiger-pattern Hawaiian shirt, and he would've fit right in at one of Gabe's poker parties, except I got the feeling this guy could've out-gambled even my stepfather.**

 **"That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. Be polite. The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper—**

Annabeth raises her eyebrows. "Seriously, Grover?"

 **—but she's been here longer than just about anybody.**

"Good."

 **And you already know Chiron... ."**

 **He pointed at the guy whose back was to me.**

 **First, I realized he was sitting in the wheelchair. Then I recognized the tweed jacket, the thinning brown hair, the scraggly beard.**

 **"Mr. Brunner!" I cried.**

"Nope." The Demigods grinned.

 **The Latin teacher turned and smiled at me. His eyes had that mischievous glint they sometimes got in class when he pulled a pop quiz and made all the multiple choice answers B.**

 **"Ah, good, Percy," he said. "Now we have four for pinochle."**

 **He offered me a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to CampHalf-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you."**

 **"Uh, thanks." I scooted a little farther away from him because, if there was one thing I had learned from living with Gabe, it was how to tell when an adult has been hitting the happy juice. If Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, I was a satyr.**

While Dionysus look offenced, everyone laughed their butt off.

 **"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the blond girl.**

"Seriously? I like Wise Girl better than 'blond girl'!" Annabeth look offended.

 **She came forward and Mr. Brunner introduced us. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."**

 **Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron."**

 **She was probably my age, maybe a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic looking. With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image.**

"WHAT!"

 **They were startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight.**

Annabeth smiled smugly.

 **She glanced at the minotaur horn in my hands, then back at me. I imagined she was going to say, You killed a minotaur! or Wow, you're so awesome! or something like that.**

"If Annabeth said that...Our world will become in end!" Leo chuckled.

Annabeth slapped Leo's head playfully.

"Shut up Valdez."

 **Instead she said, "You drool when you sleep."**

The room went laughing so hard.

 **Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her.**

 **"So," I said, anxious to change the subject. "You, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?".**

 **"Not Mr. Brunner," the ex—Mr. Brunner said. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron."**

 **"Okay." Totally confused, I looked at the director. "And Mr. D ... does that stand for something?"**

"Yes, Seaweed Brain."

 **Mr. D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly. "Young man, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."**

 **"Oh. Right. Sorry."**

 **"I must say, Percy," Chiron-Brunner broke in, "I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time."**

"Really Chiron?"

 **"House call?"**

 **"My year at YancyAcademy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to ... ah, take a leave of absence."**

 **I tried to remember the beginning of the school year. It seemed like so long ago, but I did have a fuzzy memory of there being another Latin teacher my first week at Yancy. Then, without explanation, he had disappeared and Mr. Brunner had taken the class.**

 **"You came to Yancy just to teach me?" I asked.**

"Uh—yes duh." Annabeth said sarcastically.

 **Chiron nodded. "Honestly, I wasn't sure about you at first. We contacted your mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for CampHalf-Blood. But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test."**

 **"Grover," Mr. D said impatiently, "are you playing or not?"**

 **"Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, though I didn't know why he should be so afraid of a pudgy little man in a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt.**

 **"You do know how to play pinochle?" Mr. D eyed me suspiciously.**

 **"I'm afraid not," I said.**

 **"I'm afraid not, sir," he said.**

 **"Sir," I repeated. I was liking the camp director less and less.**

"Same." Jason said quietly.

 **"Well," he told me, "it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all civilized young men to know the rules."**

"What up with you with Pac-Man?" Leo asked the Wine Dude.

Dionysus huffed.

"You don't know Lex?" Dionysus asked.

"It Leo."

"Whatever."

"Just asking." Leo said innocently.

 **"I'm sure the boy can learn," Chiron said.**

 **"Please," I said, "what is this place? What am I doing here? Mr. Brun—Chiron—why would you go to YancyAcademy just to teach me?"**

The Demigods facepalmed.

 **Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same question."**

 **The camp director dealt the cards. Grover flinched every time one landed in his pile.**

 **Chiron smiled at me sympathetically, the way he used to in Latin class, as if to let me know that no matter what my average was, I was his star student. He expected me to have the right answer.**

 **"Percy," he said. "Did your mother tell you nothing?'**

 **"She said ..." I remembered her sad eyes, looking out over the sea. "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her."**

 **"Typical," Mr. D said. "That's how they usually get killed. Young man, are you bidding or not?"**

Poseidon glared at Dionysus.

"W-what?" Dionysus said innocently.

Poseidon didn't a word, but glared at Dionysus.

Dionysus shrink down in his throne.

 **"What?" I asked.**

 **He explained, impatiently, how you bid in pinochle, and so I did.**

 **"I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient."**

 **"Orientation film?" I asked.**

 **"No," Chiron decided. "Well, Percy. You know your friend Grover is a satyr. You know"—he pointed to the horn in the shoe box—"that you have killed the Minotaur. No small feat, either, lad. What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods—the forces you call the Greek gods—are very much alive."**

 **I stared at the others around the table.**

 **I waited for somebody to yell, Not! But all I got was Mr. D yelling, "Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!" He cackled as he tallied up his points.**

Hera and Zeus stared at Dionysus.

 **"Mr. D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?"**

 **"Eh? Oh, all right."**

 **Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminum can and chewed it mournfully.**

 **"Wait," I told Chiron. "You're telling me there's such a thing as God."**

 **"Well, now," Chiron said. "God—capital G, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical."**

 **"Metaphysical? But you were just talking about—"**

 **"Ah, gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter."**

Zeus raises his eyebrows.

"Smaller?"

 **"Smaller?"**

 **"Yes, quite. The gods we discussed in Latin class."**

 **"Zeus," I said. "Hera. Apollo. You mean them."**

 **And there it was again—distant thunder on a cloudless day.**

Same here.

 **"Young man," said Mr. D, "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around, if I were you."**

 **"But they're stories," I said. "They're—myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science."**

"MYTH!?" Zeus boomed.

 **"Science!" Mr. D scoffed. "And tell me, Perseus Jackson"—I flinched when he said my real name, which I never told anybody—"what will people think of your 'science' two thousand years from now?" Mr. D continued. "Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo. That's what. Oh, I love mortals—they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come so-o-o far. And have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me."**

 **I wasn't liking Mr. D much, but there was something about the way he called me mortal, as if... he wasn't. It was enough to put a lump in my throat, to suggest why Grover was dutifully minding his cards, chewing his soda can, and keeping his mouth shut.**

 **"Percy," Chiron said, "you may choose to believe or not, but the fact is that immortal means immortal. Can you imagine that for a moment, never dying? Never fading? Existing, just as you are, for all time?"**

 **I was about to answer, off the top of my head, that it sounded like a pretty good deal, but the tone of Chiron's voice made me hesitate.**

 **"You mean, whether people believed in you or not," I said.**

 **"Exactly," Chiron agreed. "If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning? What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that someday people would call you a myth, just created to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers?"**

 **My heart pounded. He was trying to make me angry for some reason, but I wasn't going to let him. I said, "I wouldn't like it. But I don't believe in gods."**

 **"Oh, you'd better," Mr. D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you."**

Poseidon blasted Dionysus off his throne.

"Don't. You. Dare. Harm. My. Son." Poseidon said darkly.

 **Grover said, "P-please, sir. He's just lost his mother. He's in shock."**

 **"A lucky thing, too," Mr. D grumbled, playing a card. "Bad enough I'm confined to this miserable job, working with boys who don't even believe.'"**

 **He waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine.**

Zeus glared at Dionysus.

 **My jaw dropped, but Chiron hardly looked up.**

 **"Mr. D," he warned, "your restrictions."**

 **Mr. D looked at the wine and feigned surprise.**

 **"Dear me." He looked at the sky and yelled, "Old habits! Sorry!"**

 **More thunder.**

Same here.

 **Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game.**

 **Chiron winked at me. "Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."**

 **"A wood nymph," I repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space.**

 **"Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me.**

"Oh—oh no! I do not!" Zeus glared at Dionysus.

 **The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time—well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away—the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. 'Be a better influence,' he told me. 'Work with youths rather than tearing them down.' Ha.' Absolutely unfair."**

 **Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid.**

The room went silence and then went nuts.

 **"And ..." I stammered, "your father is ..."**

"Damn. He is _slow_." Jason commented.

"That is why I named him, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth chuckled.

 **"Di immortales, Chiron," Mr. D said. "I thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus, of course."**

 **I ran through D names from Greek mythology. Wine. The skin of a tiger. The satyrs that all seemed to work here. The way Grover cringed, as if Mr. D were his master.**

 **"You're Dionysus," I said. "The god of wine."**

 **Mr. D rolled his eyes. "What do they say, these days, Grover? Do the children say, 'Well, duh!'?"**

 **"Y-yes, Mr. D."**

 **"Then, well, duh! Percy Jackson. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?"**

Aphrodite threw her high heel at Dionysus.

"OW!"

 **"You're a god."**

 **"Yes, child."**

 **"A god. You."**

Poseidon facepalmed.

 **He turned to look at me straight on, and I saw a kind of purplish fire in his eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing me the tiniest bit of his true nature. I saw visions of grape vines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, sailors screaming as their hands turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts. I knew that if I pushed him, Mr. D would show me worse things. He would plant a disease in my brain that would leave me wearing a strait-jacket in a rubber room for the rest of my life.**

 **"Would you like to test me, child?" he said quietly.**

 **"No. No, sir."**

 **The fire died a little. He turned back to his card game. "I believe I win."**

 **"Not quite, Mr. D," Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said, "The game goes to me."**

"HE IS STILL BEATING ME STILL?!" Dionysus complained.

 **I thought Mr. D was going to vaporize Chiron right out of his wheelchair, but he just sighed through his nose, as if he were used to being beaten by the Latin teacher. He got up, and Grover rose, too.**

 **"I'm tired," Mr. D said. "I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, again, about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment."**

 **Grover's face beaded with sweat. "Y-yes, sir."**

 **Mr. D turned to me. "Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. And mind your manners."**

 **He swept into the farmhouse, Grover following miserably.**

 **"Will Grover be okay?" I asked Chiron.**

 **Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. "Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job. He's been ... ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus."**

 **"MountOlympus," I said. "You're telling me there really is a palace there?"**

 **"Well now, there's MountOlympus in Greece. And then there's the home of the gods, the convergence point of their powers, which did indeed used to be on MountOlympus. It's still called MountOlympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, Percy, just as the gods do."**

 **"You mean the Greek gods are here? Like ... in America?"**

 **"Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West."**

 **"The what?"**

 **"Come now, Percy. What you call 'Western civilization.' Do you think it's just an abstract concept? No, it's a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn't possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization were obliterated. The fire started in Greece. Then, as you well know—or as I hope you know, since you passed my course—the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods. Oh, different names, perhaps—Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on—but the same forces, the same gods."**

 **"And then they died."**

Olympus looked offended.

 **"Died? No. Did the West die? The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. All you need to do is look at the architecture. People do not forget the gods. Every place they've ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in paintings, in statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, Percy, of course they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus in RockefellerCenter, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not—and believe me, plenty of people weren't very fond of Rome, either—America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here. And we are here."**

 **It was all too much, especially the fact that I seemed to be included in Chiron's we, as if I were part of some club.**

 **"Who are you, Chiron? Who ... who am I?"**

"What? Your Percy Jackson. The Olympus's best hero in Mythology history and legendary!" Leo exclaimed.

"Uh, Leo I don't think that, what he meant." Piper said.

"So?"

 **Chiron smiled. He shifted his weight as if he were going to get up out of his wheelchair, but I knew that was impossible. He was paralyzed from the waist down.**

 **"Who are you?" he mused. "Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it? But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be s'mores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate."**

 **And then he did rise from his wheelchair. But thhere was something odd about the way he did it. His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn't move. His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. At first, I thought he was wearing very long, white velvet underwear, but as he kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man, I realized that the velvet underwear wasn't underwear; it was the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under coarse white fur. And the wheelchair wasn't a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels, and it must've been magic, because there's no way it could've held all of him. A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof. Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box was empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached..**

 **I stared at the horse who had just sprung from the wheelchair: a huge white stallion. But where its neck should be was the upper body of my Latin teacher, smoothly grafted to the horse's trunk.**

 **"What a relief," the centaur said. "I'd been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep. Now, come, Percy Jackson. Let's meet the other campers."**

"Finished." Leo said.

"Who want to read next?" Zeus asked.

"Oooh! Me." Connor said.

Leo handed over the book to the Connor.

" **I become supreme lord of the bathroom.** " Connor read out loud.


	7. I become supreme lord of the bathroom

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

Luluislove22: Thanks you so much! :D

Godess bubbles: Thanks! I really loves Poseidon's reaction! I thought it was hilarious don't you think?

Death Fury: Thanks! I will continuing doing my best!

Please reviews again soon~! That'll make me feel better and write faster~!

* * *

"What the..." Leo's voice trailed off.

The room went full of laughter.

 **Once I got over the fact that my Latin teacher was a horse, we had a nice tour, though I was careful not to walk behind him. I'd done pooper-scooper patrol in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a few times, and, I'm sorry, I did not trust Chiron's back end the way I trusted his front.**

The Stolls snickered.

"Chiron won't be happy to hear about it!~" Travis grinned.

 **We passed the volleyball pit. Several of the campers nudged each other. One pointed to the minotaur horn I was carrying. Another said, "That's him."**

 **Most of the campers were older than me. Their satyr friends were bigger than Grover, all of them trotting around in orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirts, with nothing else to cover their bare shaggy hindquarters. I wasn't normally shy, but the way they stared at me made me uncomfortable. I felt like they were expecting me to do a flip or something.**

"Oh, I know that feeling." Jason muttered.

 **I looked back at the farmhouse. It was a lot bigger than I'd realized—four stories tall, sky blue with white trim, like an upscale seaside resort. I was checking out the brass eagle weather vane on top when something caught my eye, a shadow in the uppermost window of the attic gable. Something had moved the curtain, just for a second, and I got the distinct impression I was being watched.**

 **"What's up there?" I asked Chiron.**

 **He looked where I was pointing, and his smile faded. "Just the attic."**

 **"Somebody lives there?"**

 **"No," he said with finality. "Not a single living thing."**

Apollo glared at unconscious Hades.

Apollo haven't forgive Hades for cursing his Oracle into a mummy.

 **I got the feeling he was being truthful. But I was also sure something had moved that curtain.**

Apollo's jaw dropped. _No way...Did she actually moved?_

 **"Come along, Percy," Chiron said, his lighthearted tone now a little forced. "Lots to see."**

 **We walked through the strawberry fields, where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe.**

 **Chiron told me the camp grew a nice crop for export to New York restaurants and Mount Olympus. "It pays our expenses," he explained. "And the strawberries take almost no effort."**

 **He said Mr. D had this effect on fruit-bearing plants: they just went crazy when he was around. It worked best with wine grapes, but Mr. D was restricted from growing those, so they grew strawberries instead.**

Dionysus huffed.

 **I watched the satyr playing his pipe. His music was causing lines of bugs to leave the strawberry patch in every direction, like refugees fleeing a fire. I wondered if Grover could work that kind of magic with music.**

"Pfft! Not in the million years!" Thalia laughed.

Annabeth agreed.

"No kidding."

 **I wondered if he was still inside the farmhouse, getting chewed out by Mr. D.**

 **"Grover won't get in too much trouble, will he?" I asked Chiron. "I mean ... he was a good protector. Really."**

Thalia nodded firmly.

"He is."

 **Chiron sighed. He shed his tweed jacket and draped it over his horses back like a saddle. "Grover has big dreams, Percy. Perhaps bigger than are reasonable. To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill."**

"But he did that!" Thalia shouted and becoming angry.

 **"But he did that!"**

 **"I might agree with you," Chiron said. "But it is not my place to judge. Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders must decide. I'm afraid they might not see this assignment as a success. After all, Grover lost you in New York. Then there's the unfortunate...ah... fate of your mother. And the fact that Grover was unconscious when you dragged him over the property line. The council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part."**

"The Council of Cloven Elders is a !#!?%!" Thalia swore.

The new Demigods got a feeling that cursing is worst than Tartarus.

"THALIA!" Zeus looked offended.

"What? They're assholes." Thalia shrugged with a honesty face.

 **I wanted to protest. None of what happened was Grover's fault. I also felt really, really guilty. If I hadn't given Grover the slip at the bus station, he might not have gotten in trouble.**

 **"He'll get a second chance, won't he?"**

Thalia winced.

 **Chiron winced. "I'm afraid that was Grover's second chance, Percy. The council was not anxious to give him another, either, after what happened the first time, five years ago. Olympus knows, I advised him to wait longer before trying again. He's still so small for his age... ."**

 **"How old is he?"**

 **"Oh, twenty-eight."**

The Demigods's expect for Annabeth and Thalia face look like WTF.

"HOW?!" Leo exclaimed with a shock face.

"Holy Mother of Gods." Jason gaped.

 **"What! And he's in sixth grade?"**

 **"Satyrs mature half as fast as humans, Percy. Grover has been the equivalent of a middle school student for the past six years."**

"Dear Gods! That is horrible!" Piper shrieked.

 **"That's horrible."**

 **"Quite," Chiron agreed. "At any rate, Grover is a late bloomer, even by satyr standards, and not yet very accomplished at woodland magic. Alas, he was anxious to pursue his dream. Perhaps now he will find some other career..."**

 **"That's not fair," I said. "What happened the first time? Was it really so bad?"**

Thalia winced.

 **Chiron looked away quickly. "Let's move along, shall we?"**

"Wow Chiron. He is good at lying, but not so good at changing the subject." Connor exclaimed.

"Hmm...Maybe we can give Chiron changing subject lesson at four o'clock." Travis said.

"Sound perfect."

Travis get his notepad and writes down about giving Chiron changing subject lesson.

 **But I wasn't quite ready to let the subject drop. Something had occurred to me when Chiron talked about my mother's fate, as if he were intentionally avoiding the word death. The beginnings of an idea—a tiny, hopeful fire—started forming in my mind.**

Poseidon groaned.

"Please don't. I really hoped that my gut is wrong." Poseidon muttered.

 **"Chiron," I said. "If the gods and Olympus and all that are real..."**

 **"Yes, child?"**

 **"Does that mean the Underworld is real, too?"**

Poseidon cursed for his luck.

 **Chiron's expression darkened.**

 **"Yes, child." He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. "There is a place where spirits go after death. But for now ... until we know more ... I would urge you to put that out of your mind."**

 **"What do you mean, 'until we know more'?"**

 **"Come, Percy. Let's see the woods."**

"Y'know what?"

"What?"

"I'mma change the time. It'll be at seven o'clock in the morning." Travis grunted.

 **As we got closer, I realized how huge the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick, you could imagine nobody had been in there since the Native Americans.**

 **Chiron said, "The woods are stocked, if you care to try your luck, but go armed."**

 **"Stocked with what?" I asked. "Armed with what?"**

 **"You'll see. Capture the flag is Friday night. Do you have your own sword and shield?"**

"Seriously? He just got there." Clarisse said sarcastically.

 **"My own—?"**

 **"No," Chiron said. "I don't suppose you do. I think a size five will do. I'll visit the armory later."**

 **I wanted to ask what kind of summer camp had an armory, but there was too much else to think about, so the tour continued. We saw the archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables (which Chiron didn't seem to like very much)—**

The Stolls snickered.

"Ahhh. I remembered that gorgeous prank..." Travis smirked while remembering that memory.

 **—the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater, and the arena where Chiron said they held sword and spear fights.**

 **"Sword and spear fights?" I asked.**

 **"Cabin challenges and all that," he explained. "Not lethal. Usually. Oh, yes, and there's the mess hall."**

 **Chiron pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.**

 **"What do you do when it rains?" I asked.**

"Yeah, I always wondered." Leo said.

 **Chiron looked at me as if I'd gone a little weird.** **"We still have to eat, don't we?" I decided to drop the subject.**

 **Finally, he showed me the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they were without doubt the most bizarre collection of buildings I'd ever seen.**

"WHAT?!" The Olympus look offended.

 **Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike. Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory.**

"Mine." Hephaestus smiled.

 **Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass.**

"Mine!" Demeter shouted.

 **Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at.**

"Mine." Apollo grinned.

"Ugh. Mens." Artemis muttered.

 **They all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops (which were more my speed).**

"Really? I'm very talented at football!" Jason smirked.

 **In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined firepit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smoldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick.**

Everyone stared at Hestia.

"H-he saw me." Hestia stuttered in shock.

"That means...I'M THE FIRST GODDESS THAT HE SAW! AHA SUCKER!" Hestia laughed while the Olympus groaned.

 **The pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like his-and-hers mausoleums, big white marble boxes with heavy columns in front. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve. Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that from different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them.**

"Mine." Zeus put a smug smile.

 **Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.**

"Mine." Hera said gratefully.

 **"Zeus and Hera?" I guessed.**

 **"Correct," Chiron said.**

 **"Their cabins look empty."**

 **"Several of the cabins are. That's true. No one ever stays in one or two."**

 **Okay. So each cabin had a different god, like a mascot.**

"Excuse me?!" The Olympus cried and look offended.

 **Twelve cabins for the twelve Olympians. But why would some be empty?**

 **I stopped in front of the first cabin on the left, cabin three.**

 **It wasn't high and mighty like cabin one, but long and low and solid. The outer walls were of rough gray stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor.**

"Mine." Poseidon smiled.

 **I peeked inside the open doorway and Chiron said, "Oh, I wouldn't do that!"**

 **Before he could pull me back, I caught the salty scent of the interior, like the wind on the shore at Montauk. The interior walls glowed like abalone. There were six empty bunk beds with silk sheets turned down. But there was no sign anyone had ever slept there. The place felt so sad and lonely, I was glad when Chiron put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Come along, Percy."**

 **Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers.**

 **Number five was bright red—a real nasty paint job, as if the color had been splashed on with buckets and fists.** **The roof was lined with barbed wire. A stuffed wild boar's head hung over the doorway, and its eyes seemed to follow me. Inside I could see a bunch of mean-looking kids, both girls and boys, arm wrestling and arguing with each other while rock music blared. The loudest was a girl maybe thirteen or fourteen. She wore a size XXXL CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirt under a camouflage jacket. She zeroed in on me and gave me an evil sneer. She reminded me of Nancy Bobofit, though the camper girl was much bigger and tougher looking, and her hair was long and stringy, and brown instead of red.**

 **I kept walking, trying to stay clear of Chiron's hooves. "We haven't seen any other centaurs," I observed.**

 **"No," said Chiron sadly. "My kinsmen are a wild and barbaric folk, I'm afraid.**

"I really love his folks." Annabeth said while remembering that time when Luke and Percy fought and then his family come to the rescue.

 **You might encounter them in the wilderness, or at major sporting events. But you won't see any here."**

 **"You said your name was Chiron. Are you really ..."**

 **He smiled down at me. "The Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules and all that? Yes, Percy, I am."**

 **"But, shouldn't you be dead?"**

"Really Kelp Head? That is all that you could say?" Thalia facepalmed.

 **Chiron paused, as if the question intrigued him. "I honestly don't know about should be. The truth is, I can't be dead. You see, eons ago the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. I gained much from that wish ... and I gave up much. But I'm still here, so I can only assume I'm still needed."**

"You are forever needed." Thalia smiled.

The Demigods agreed.

 **I thought about being a teacher for three thousand years. It wouldn't have made my Top Ten Things to Wish For list.**

 **"Doesn't it ever get boring?"**

 **"No, no," he said. "Horribly depressing, at times, but never boring."**

 **"Why depressing?"**

The Sevens and survivor of the Titan War and the Giant War winced.

 **Chiron seemed to turn hard of hearing again.**

 **"Oh, look," he said. "Annabeth is waiting for us."**

 **The blond girl—**

"Come on!" Annabeth complained.

 **—I'd met at the Big House was reading a book in front of the last cabin on the left, number eleven.**

 **When we reached her, she looked me over critically, like she was still thinking about how much I drooled.**

Annabeth blushed furiously while everyone is laughing their ass off.

 **I tried to see what she was reading, but I couldn't make out the title. I thought my dyslexia was acting up. Then I realized the title wasn't even English. The letters looked Greek to me. I mean, literally Greek. There were pictures of temples and statues and different kinds of columns, like those in an architecture book.**

 **"Annabeth," Chiron said, "I have masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from here?"**

 **"Yes, sir."**

 **"Cabin eleven," Chiron told me, gesturing toward the doorway. "Make yourself at home."**

 **Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most like a regular old summer camp cabin, with the emphasis on old. The threshold was worn down, the brown paint peeling. Over the doorway was one of those doctor's symbols, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. What did they call it... ?**

"A caduceus, Seaweed Brain."

 **A caduceus.**

 **Inside, it was packed with people, both boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over on the floor. It looked like a gym where the Red Cross had set up an evacuation center.**

 **Chiron didn't go in. The door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him they all stood and bowed respectfully.**

 **"Well, then," Chiron said. "Good luck, Percy. I'll see you at dinner."**

 **He galloped away toward the archery range.**

 **I stood in the doorway, looking at the kids. They weren't bowing anymore. They were staring at me, sizing me up. I knew this routine. I'd gone through it at enough schools.**

 **"Well?" Annabeth prompted. "Go on."**

 **So naturally I tripped coming in the door and made a total fool of myself.**

"DAMN! I wish that I was there to see that." Nico and Thalia laughed.

 **There were some snickers from the campers, but none of them said anything.**

 **Annabeth announced, "Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven.**

 **"Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked.**

 **I didn't know what to say, but Annabeth said, "Undetermined."**

 **Everybody groaned.**

Hermes glared at Olympus expect for Artemis, Athena, Hestia, and Dionysus.

"Geez. I wondered why." Hermes said coldly.

Olympus shuddered expect for Artemis, Athena, Hestia, and Dionysus.

 **A guy who was a little older than the rest came forward. "Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there."**

 **The guy was about nineteen, and he looked pretty cool. He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy hair and a friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different-colored clay beads. The only thing unsettling about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like an old knife slash.**

The Titan War survivor look down and remembered Luke turned out a traitor and then died being a hero in the end.

 **"This is Luke," Annabeth said, and her voice sounded different somehow. I glanced over and could've sworn she was blushing. She saw me looking, and her expression hardened again. "He's your counselor for now."**

 **"For now?" I asked.**

 **"You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."**

 **I looked at the tiny section of floor they'd given me. I had nothing to put there to mark it as my own, no luggage, no clothes, no sleeping bag. Just the Minotaur's horn. I thought about setting that down, but then I remembered that Hermes was also the god of thieves.**

"Dang it!"

Hermes got blasted with cold salt-water on the face.

 **I looked around at the campers' faces, some sullen and suspicious, some grinning stupidly, some eyeing me as if they were waiting for a chance to pick my pockets.**

 **"How long will I be here?" I asked.**

 **"Good question," Luke said. "Until you're determined."**

 **"How long will that take?"**

 **The campers all laughed.**

 **"Come on," Annabeth told me. "I'll show you the volleyball court."**

 **"I've already seen it."**

"Dumbass. She is trying to get you out from that stupid situation." Thalia facepalmed.

 **"Come on." She grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside. I could hear the kids of cabin eleven laughing behind me.**

 **When we were a few feet away, Annabeth said, "Jackson, you have to do better than that."**

"Yeah." Thalia agreed.

 **"What?"**

 **She rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, "I can't believe I thought you were the one."**

 **"What's your problem?" I was getting angry now. "All I know is, I kill some bull guy—"**

 **"Don't talk like that!" Annabeth told me. "You know how many kids at this camp wish they'd had your chance?"**

 **"To get killed?"**

 **"To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?"**

 **I shook my head. "Look, if the thing I fought really was the Minotaur, the same one in the stories ..."**

 **"Yes."**

 **"Then there's only one."**

 **"Yes."**

 **"And he died, like, a gajillion years ago, right? Theseus killed him in the labyrinth. So ..."**

"Is a 'gajillion' even a word?" Leo asked with a dumbfounded face.

"Uh yes." Annabeth said sarcastically.

"Oh. It almost rare to hear that from someone." Leo shrugged.

 **"Monsters don't die, Percy. They can be killed. But they don't die."**

"Sadly it true." The Demigods said sadly.

 **"Oh, thanks. That clears it up."**

 **"They don't have souls, like you and me. You can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a whole lifetime if you're lucky. But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them archetypes. Eventually, they re-form."**

 **I thought about Mrs. Dodds. "You mean if I killed one, accidentally, with a sword—"**

 **"The Fur ... I mean, your math teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her very, very mad."**

Nico chuckled.

"Not mad. You made her extremely pissed. She is probably planning to get her revenge for killing her. Did y'know that no Demigods heroes haven't defeated her for a couple millennia, not ever since the original Perseus." Nico said.

Annabeth was faking crying and Thalia.

"Oh. My. Gods...Nico was actually pay attention to Annie." Thalia put a crack smile.

"Oh shut up." Nico glared at Thalia.

"Hey! I'm not Annie! Why everyone kept calling me that." Annabeth pouted.

"Because, it very suitable on you." Thalia grinned at Annabeth.

 **"How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?"**

 **"You talk in your sleep."**

"OOOH! BUUURN!" The Stolls laughed.

 **"You almost called her something. A Fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?"**

 **Annabeth glanced nervously at the ground, as if she expected it to open up and swallow her. "You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all."**

 **"Look, is there anything we can say without it thundering?" I sounded whiny, even to myself, but right then I didn't care. "Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven, anyway? Why is everybody so crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there."**

 **I pointed to the first few cabins, and Annabeth turned pale. "You don't just choose a cabin, Percy. It depends on who your parents are. Or ... your parent."**

 **She stared at me, waiting for me to get it.**

 **"My mom is Sally Jackson," I said. "She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station. At least, she used to."**

Poseidon glared at unconscious Hades.

 **"I'm sorry about your mom, Percy. But that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent. Your dad."**

 **"He's dead. I never knew him."**

"Pfft."

 **Annabeth sighed. Clearly, she'd had this conversation before with other kids.**

Annabeth grumbled.

"I have."

 **"Your father's not dead, Percy."**

 **"How can you say that? You know him?"**

 **"No, of course not."**

 **"Then how can you say—"**

 **"Because I know you. You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us."**

 **"You don't know anything about me."**

 **"No?" She raised an eyebrow. "I bet you moved around from school to school. I bet you were kicked out of a lot of them."**

"Wow. There is a lot of bet." Leo put a mischievous grinned at Annabeth.

Annabeth slapped Leo on the head playfully.

"Oh shut up, Valdez." Annabeth grumbled.

 **"How—"**

 **"Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too."**

 **I tried to swallow my embarrassment. "What does that have to do with anything?"**

 **"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? That's because your mind is hardwired for ancient Greek. And the ADHD—you're impulsive, can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battlefield reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal's. Of course the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don't want you seeing them for what they are."**

 **"You sound like ... you went through the same thing?"**

 **"Most of the kids here did. If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."**

 **"Ambrosia and nectar."**

 **"The food and drink we were giving you to make you better. That stuff would've killed a normal kid. It would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead. Face it. You're a half-blood."**

 **A half-blood.**

 **I was reeling with so many questions I didn't know where to start.**

 **Then a husky voice yelled, "Well! A newbie!"**

Clarisse groaned and facepalmed.

"Oh fuck."

"LANGUAGE!" Hera warned.

 **I looked over. The big girl from the ugly red cabin was sauntering toward us. She had three other girls behind her, all big and ugly and mean looking like her, all wearing camo jackets.**

 **"Clarisse," Annabeth sighed. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"**

 **"Sure, Miss Princess," the big girl said. "So I can run you through with it Friday night."**

"Buuurn!" The Stolls snickered.

 **''Erre es korakas!" Annabeth said, which I somehow understood was Greek for 'Go to the crows!' though I had a feeling it was a worse curse than it sounded.**

"Oh yes it is..Since, when you learned that—that language." Athena said suspiciously.

"Oh! Erm...I—"

"EVERYONE LET READ THE GODS DAMN BOOK! Thalia screamed and didn't want to know how Annabeth learned that cursing.

 **"You don't stand a chance."**

 **"We'll pulverize you," Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. Perhaps she wasn't sure she could follow through on the threat. She turned toward me. "Who's this little runt?"**

 **"Percy Jackson," Annabeth said, "meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares."**

 **I blinked. "Like ... the war god?"**

 **Clarisse sneered. "You got a problem with that?"**

 **"No," I said, recovering my wits. "It explains the bad smell."**

"OOOOH BUUUURN!" Leo and the Stolls snickered.

 **Clarisse growled. "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy."**

 **"Percy."**

 **"Whatever. Come on, I'll show you."**

 **"Clarisse—" Annabeth tried to say.**

 **"Stay out of it, wise girl."**

The Demigods gasped in horror.

"N-never way...He got it from Clarisse?!" Thalia screamed.

Annabeth just shrugged.

 **Annabeth looked pained, but she did stay out of it, and I didn't really want her help. I was the new kid. I had to earn my own rep.**

 **I handed Annabeth my minotaur horn and got ready to fight, but before I knew it, Clarisse had me by the neck and was dragging me toward a cinder-block building that I knew immediately was the bathroom.**

 **I was kicking and punching. I'd been in plenty of fights before, but this big girl Clarisse had hands like iron. She dragged me into the girls' bathroom. There was a line of toilets on one side and a line of shower stalls down the other. It smelled just like any public bathroom, and I was thinking—as much as I could think with Clarisse ripping my hair out—that if this place belonged to the gods, they should've been able to afford classier johns.**

"Really, Seaweed Brain. Make a joke in front of the threat or a dangerous situation." Annabeth chuckled.

 **Clarisse's friends were all laughing, and I was trying to find the strength I'd used to fight the Minotaur, but it just wasn't there.**

 **"Like he's 'Big Three' material," Clarisse said as she pushed me toward one of the toilets. "Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking."**

 **Her friends snickered.**

 **Annabeth stood in the corner, watching through her fingers.**

"No! I was not!" Annabeth look a offended.

"Oh yes you are!" Clarisse snapped.

 **Clarisse bent me over on my knees and started pushing my head toward the toilet bowl. It reeked like rusted pipes and, well, like what goes into toilets. I strained to keep my head up. I was looking at the scummy water, thinking, I will not go into that. I won't.**

"Stubborn. Just like Poseidon." Demeter said thoughtfully.

"HEY!"

"What? It true."

 **Then something happened. I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach.**

Poseidon smirked while knowing what is going to happen.

 **I heard the plumbing rumble, the pipes shudder. Clarisse's grip on my hair loosened. Water shot out of the toilet, making an arc straight over my head, and the next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the bathroom tiles with Clarisse screaming behind me.**

 **I turned just as water blasted out of the toilet again, hitting Clarisse straight in the face so hard it pushed her down onto her butt. The water stayed on her like the spray from a fire hose, pushing her backward into a shower stall.**

 **She struggled, gasping, and her friends started coming toward her. But then the other toilets exploded, too, and six more streams of toilet water blasted them back. The showers acted up, too, and together all the fixtures sprayed the camouflage girls right out of the bathroom, spinning them around like pieces of garbage being washed away.**

 **As soon as they were out the door, I felt the tug in my gut lessen, and the water shut off as quickly as it had started.**

 **The entire bathroom was flooded. Annabeth hadn't been spared. She was dripping wet, but she hadn't been pushed out the door. She was standing in exactly the same place, staring at me in shock.**

 **I looked down and realized I was sitting in the only dry spot in the whole room. There was a circle of dry floor around me. I didn't have one drop of water on my clothes. Nothing.**

 **I stood up, my legs shaky.**

 **Annabeth said, "How did you ..."**

 **"I don't know."**

 **We walked to the door. Outside, Clarisse and her friends were sprawled in the mud, and a bunch of other campers had gathered around to gawk. Clarisse's hair was flattened across her face. Her camouflage jacket was sopping and she smelled like sewage. She gave me a look of absolute hatred. "You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead."**

"Oh yes you are." Thalia mocked.

 **I probably should have let it go, but I said, "You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth."**

"Wow. He is talented pissing out the Gods and Demigods? Jesus." Jason exclaimed.

 **Her friends had to hold her back. They dragged her toward cabin five, while the other campers made way to avoid her flailing feet.**

 **Annabeth stared at me. I couldn't tell whether she was just grossed out or angry at me for dousing her.**

 **"What?" I demanded. "What are you thinking?"**

 **"I'm thinking," she said, "that I want you on my team for capture the flag."**

"Oh no." Athena said in horror.

"Finished." Connor said.

"Who want to read next?" Zeus asked.

"Me." Piper said.

Connor handed over the book to Piper.

" **My Dinner Goes Up in Smoke**." Piper read out loud.


	8. My Dinner Goes Up in Smoke

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

* * *

Travis and Connor gasped with a idea for a new prank.

The Stolls grinned at each other.

 **Word of the bathroom incident spread immediately. Wherever I went, campers pointed at me and murmured something about toilet water. Or maybe they were just staring at Annabeth, who was still pretty much dripping wet.**

"Nope. Actually they're staring at you." Katie grinned.

 **She showed me a few more places: the metal shop (where kids were forging their own swords), the arts-and-crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of a goat-man), and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together if you didn't get to the top fast enough.**

 **Finally we returned to the canoeing lake, where the trail led back to the cabins.**

 **"I've got training to do," Annabeth said flatly. "Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall."**

 **"Annabeth, I'm sorry about the toilets."**

 **"Whatever."**

 **"It wasn't my fault."**

 **She looked at me skeptically, and I realized it was my fault. I'd made water shoot out of the bathroom fixtures. I didn't understand how. But the toilets had responded to me. I had become one with the plumbing.**

Everyone laughed hysterically and it took them fifteen minutes to calm their ass down.

 **"You need to talk to the Oracle," Annabeth said.**

"Annabeth Chase! He just got here! He barely know about the gods damn Oracle." Thalia said.

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

 **"Who?"**

 **"Not who. What. The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron."**

 **I stared into the lake, wishing somebody would give me a straight answer for once.**

 **I wasn't expecting anybody to be looking back at me from the bottom, so my heart skipped a beat when I noticed two teenage girls sitting cross-legged at the base of the pier, about twenty feet below. They wore blue jeans and shimmering green T-shirts, and their brown hair floated loose around their shoulders as minnows darted in and out. They smiled and waved as if I were a long-lost friend.**

"They are friendly to child of Poseidon." Athena said.

 **I didn't know what else to do. I waved back.**

 **"Don't encourage them," Annabeth warned. "Naiads are terrible flirts."**

"Oooooh! Jealous-Annabeth!" Aphrodite squealed.

Annabeth blushed furiously.

"Shut up Aphrodite."

 **"Naiads," I repeated, feeling completely overwhelmed. "That's it. I want to go home now."**

 **Annabeth frowned. "Don't you get it, Percy? You are home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us."**

 **"You mean, mentally disturbed kids?"**

"Hey!" The Demigods cried.

 **"I mean not human. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human."**

 **"Half-human and half-what?"**

"Oh for the love of gods, Percy didn't you listen to Annie?!" Thalia screamed.

 **"I think you know."**

 **I didn't want to admit it, but I was afraid I did. I felt a tingling in my limbs, a sensation I sometimes felt when my mom talked about my dad.**

 **"God," I said. "Half-god."**

 **Annabeth nodded. "Your father isn't dead, Percy. He's one of the Olympians."**

 **"That's ... crazy."**

"Oh really? Tell me about it." Jason grumbled.

 **"Is it? What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?"**

The thunder rumbles.

Every Olympians look offended/ ashamed.

 **"But those are just—" I almost said myths again. Then I remembered Chiron's warning that in two thousand years, I might be considered a myth. "But if all the kids here are half-gods—"**

 **"Demigods," Annabeth said. "That's the official term. Or half-bloods."**

 **"Then who's your dad?"**

 **Her hands tightened around the pier railing. I got the feeling I'd just trespassed on a sensitive subject.**

"Yeah. It _was_." Annabeth said bitterly.

 **"My dad is a professor at West Point," she said. "I haven't seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history."**

 **"He's human."**

 **"What? You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?"**

"Very!" Hermes and Apollo snickered and give a high face at another.

 **"Who's your mom, then?"**

 **"Cabin six."**

 **"Meaning?"**

 **Annabeth straightened. "Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle."**

"Dramatic." Poseidon muttered.

 **Okay, I thought. Why not?**

 **"And my dad?"**

 **"Undetermined," Annabeth said, "like I told you before. Nobody knows."**

 **"Except my mother. She knew."**

Poseidon smiled.

 **"Maybe not, Percy. Gods don't always reveal their identities."**

"Just like my dad." Piper said sadly remembering about her dad.

 **"My dad would have. He loved her."**

"Ooh yes. Even though it is twenty years in the future, I do love her." Poseidon said dreamily.

 **Annabeth gave me a cautious look. She didn't want to burst my bubble. "Maybe you're right. Maybe he'll send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens.**

 **"You mean sometimes it doesn't?"**

Hermes glared at Olympians expect for virgin goddesses and a few others Gods.

 **Annabeth ran her palm along the rail. "The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always ... Well, sometimes they don't care about us, Percy. They ignore us."**

 **I thought about some of the kids I'd seen in the Hermes cabin, teenagers who looked sullen and depressed, as if they were waiting for a call that would never come. I'd known kids like that at Yancy Academy, shuffled off to boarding school by rich parents who didn't have the time to deal with them. But gods should behave better.**

 **"So I'm stuck here," I said. "That's it? For the rest of my life?"**

 **"It depends," Annabeth said. "Some campers only stay the summer. If you're a child of Aphrodite or Demeter, you're probably not a real powerful force.**

Demeter, Aphrodite and Piper look deadly offended.

"How dare you!" Demeter growled.

 **The monsters might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year-rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time, they'll ignore us until we're old enough to cause trouble—about ten or eleven years old, but after that, most demigods either make their way here, or they get killed off. A few manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Believe me, if I told you the names, you'd know them. Some don't even realize they're demigods. But very, very few are like that."**

 **"So monsters can't get in here?"**

 **Annabeth shook her head. "Not unless they're intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside."**

 **"Why would anybody want to summon a monster?"**

"Yeah. Seriously, how could anyone want to summon a bloody hell monsters?" Leo exclaimed.

 **"Practice fights. Practical jokes."**

"Practical jokes?" Leo asked.

 **"Practical jokes?"**

 **"The point is, the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see nothing unusual, just a strawberry farm."**

 **"So ... you're a year-rounder?"**

 **Annabeth nodded. From under the collar of her T-shirt she pulled a leather necklace with five clay beads of different colors. It was just like Luke's, except Annabeth's also had a big gold ring strung on it, like a college ring.**

 **"I've been here since I was seven," she said.**

Athena' eyes grew wide in shock.

 **"Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college."**

 **"Why did you come so young?"**

 **She twisted the ring on her necklace. "None of your business."**

 **"Oh." I stood there for a minute in uncomfortable silence. "So ... I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?"**

 **"It would be suicide, but you could, with Mr. D's or Chiron's permission. But they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer session unless ..."**

 **"Unless?"**

 **"You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time ..."**

Annabeth, Travis, Connor, and Clarisse winced.

 **Her voice trailed off. I could tell from her tone that the last time hadn't gone well.**

"It really haven't." Annabeth said seriously.

 **"Back in the sick room," I said, "when you were feeding me that stuff—"**

 **"Ambrosia."**

 **"Yeah. You asked me something about the summer solstice."**

 **Annabeth's shoulders tensed. "So you do know something?"  
**

 **"Well... no. Back at my old school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have much time, because of the deadline. What did that mean?"**

 **She clenched her fists. "I wish I knew. Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won't tell me. Something is wrong in Olympus, something pretty major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so normal."**

 **"You've been to Olympus?"**

 **"Some of us year-rounders—Luke and Clarisse and I and a few others—we took a field trip during winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council."**

 **"But... how did you get there?"**

 **"The Long Island Railroad, of course. You get off at Penn Station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor." She looked at me like she was sure I must know this already. "You are a New Yorker, right?"**

"Seriously?"

 **"Oh, sure." As far as I knew, there were only a hundred and two floors in the Empire State Building, but I decided not to point that out.**

 **"Right after we visited," Annabeth continued, "the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting.**

Athena gasped with a realization.

Annabeth mouthed to her mother saying _don't, not until it time._

Athena nodded softly.

 **A couple of times since, I've overheard satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen. And if it isn't returned by summer solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came, I was hoping ... I mean— Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course she's got the rivalry with Poseidon. But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together. I thought you might know something."**

 **I shook my head. I wished I could help her, but I felt too hungry and tired and mentally overloaded to ask any more questions.**

"Mens." Artemis rolled her eyes.

 **"I've got to get a quest," Annabeth muttered to herself. "I'm not too young. If they would just tell me the problem ..."**

 **I could smell barbecue smoke coming from somewhere nearby. Annabeth must've heard my stomach growl. She told me to go on, she'd catch me later. I left her on the pier, tracing her finger across the rail as if drawing a battle plan.**

 **Back at cabin eleven, everybody was talking and horsing around, waiting for dinner. For the first time, I noticed that a lot of the campers had similar features: sharp noses, upturned eyebrows, mischievous smiles. They were the kind of kids that teachers would peg as troublemakers. Thankfully, nobody paid much attention to me as I walked over to my spot on the floor and plopped down with my minotaur horn.. . . ..**

 **The counselor, Luke, came over. He had the Hermes family resemblance, too. It was marred by that scar on his right cheek, but his smile was intact.**

 **"Found you a sleeping bag," he said. "And here, I stole you some toiletries from the camp store."**

 **I couldn't tell if he was kidding about the stealing part.**

"He wasn't." Annabeth said.

 **I said, "Thanks."**

 **"No prob." Luke sat next to me, pushed his back against the wall. "Tough first day?"**

 **"I don't belong here," I said. "I don't even believe in gods."**

 **"Yeah," he said. "That's how we all started. Once you start believing in them? It doesn't get any easier."**

 **The bitterness in his voice surprised me, because Luke seemed like a pretty easygoing guy. He looked like he could handle just about anything.**

 **"So your dad is Hermes?" I asked.**

 **He pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket, and for a second I thought he was going to gut me, but he just scraped the mud off the sole of his sandal. "Yeah. Hermes."**

 **"The wing-footed messenger guy."**

Hermes look a offended.

"Really? Really Percy?"

 **"That's him. Messengers. Medicine. Travelers, merchants, thieves. Anybody who uses the roads. That's why you're here, enjoying cabin eleven's hospitality. Hermes isn't picky about who he sponsors."**

 **I figured Luke didn't mean to call me a nobody. He just had a lot on his mind.**

 **"You ever meet your dad?" I asked.**

Annabeth and Thalia winced and look down while remembering about that time.

 **"Once."**

 **I waited, thinking that if he wanted to tell me, he'd tell me. Apparently, he didn't. I wondered if the story had anything to do with how he got his scar.**

Hermes's eyes grew wide in horror.

"Did I?" Hermes asked impatiently.

The Demigods shakes their nod.

Hermes sighed with a relief.

 **Luke looked up and managed a smile. "Don't worry about it, Percy. The campers here, they're mostly good people. After all, we're extended family, right? We take care of each other."**

 **He seemed to understand how lost I felt, and I was grateful for that, because an older guy like him—even if he was a counselor—should've steered clear of an uncool middle-schooler like me. But Luke had welcomed me into the cabin. He'd even stolen me some toiletries, which was the nicest thing anybody had done for me all day.**

"Like he is." Connor mumbled.

 **I decided to ask him my last big question, the one that had been bothering me all afternoon. "Clarisse, from Ares, was joking about me being 'Big Three' material. Then Annabeth ... twice, she said I might be 'the one.' She said I should talk to the Oracle. What was that all about?"**

 **Luke folded his knife. "I hate prophecies."**

Annabeth winced.

 **"What do you mean?"**

 **His face twitched around the scar. "Let's just say I messed things up for everybody else. The last two years, ever since my trip to the Garden of the Hesperides went sour, Chiron hasn't allowed any more quests. Annabeth's been dying to get out into the world. She pestered Chiron so much he finally told her he already knew her fate. He'd had a prophecy from the Oracle. He wouldn't tell her the whole thing, but he said Annabeth wasn't destined to go on a quest yet. She had to wait until... somebody special came to the camp."**

 **"Somebody special?"**

 **"Don't worry about it, kid," Luke said. "Annabeth wants to think every new camper who comes through here is the omen she's been waiting for.**

The Demigods chuckled.

 **Now, come on, it's dinnertime."**

 **The moment he said it, a horn blew in the distance. Somehow, I knew it was a conch shell, even though I'd never heard one before.**

 **Luke yelled, "Eleven, fall in!"**

 **The whole cabin, about twenty of us, filed into the commons yard. We lined up in order of seniority, so of course I was dead last. Campers came from the other cabins, too, except for the three empty cabins at the end, and cabin eight, which had looked normal in the daytime, but was now starting to glow silver as the sun went down.**

"Oh really?" Artemis asked with a curiosity.

"Yes." Thalia said.

 **We marched up the hill to the mess hall pavilion. Satyrs joined us from the meadow. Naiads emerged from the canoeing lake. A few other girls came out of the woods— and when I say out of the woods, I mean straight out of the woods. I saw one girl, about nine or ten years old, melt from the side of a maple tree and come skipping up the hill.**

 **In all, there were maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads.**

 **At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but cabin eleven's was way overcrowded. I had to squeeze on to the edge of a bench with half my butt hanging off.**

The Stolls snickered.

 **I saw Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few satyrs, and a couple of plump blond boys who looked just like Mr. D. Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way too small for a centaur.**

 **Annabeth sat at table six with a bunch of serious-looking athletic kids, all with her gray eyes and honey-blond hair.**

 **Clarisse sat behind me at Ares's table. She'd apparently gotten over being hosed down, because she was laughing and belching right alongside her friends.**

 **Finally, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. "To the gods!"**

 **Everybody else raised their glasses. "To the gods!"**

 **Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and yes, barbecue! My glass was empty, but Luke said, "Speak to it. Whatever you want—nonalcoholic, of course."**

 **I said, "Cherry Coke."**

 **The glass filled with sparkling caramel liquid.**

 **Then I had an idea. "Blue Cherry Coke."**

 **The soda turned a violent shade of cobalt.**

 **I took a cautious sip. Perfect.. . . . .**

 **I drank a toast to my mother.**

 **She's not gone, I told myself. Not permanently, anyway. She's in the Underworld. And if that's a real place, then someday...**

Poseidon groaned.

 **"Here you go, Percy," Luke said, handing me a platter of smoked brisket.**

 **I loaded my plate and was about to take a big bite when I noticed everybody getting up, carrying their plates toward the fire in the center of the pavilion. I wondered if they were going for dessert or something.**

 **"Come on," Luke told me.**

 **As I got closer, I saw that everyone was taking a portion of their meal and dropping it into the fire, the ripest strawberry, the juiciest slice of beef, the warmest, most buttery roll.**

 **Luke murmured in my ear, "Burnt offerings for the gods. They like the smell."**

 **"You're kidding."**

"Nope! I really loves that smell of the sea.." Poseidon said dreamily.

 **His look warned me not to take this lightly, but I couldn't help wondering why an immortal, all-powerful being would like the smell of burning food.**

 **Luke approached the fire, bowed his head, and tossed in a cluster of fat red grapes. "Hermes."**

 **I was next.**

 **I wished I knew what god's name to say.**

 **Finally, I made a silent plea. Whoever you are, tell me. Please.**

 **I scraped a big slice of brisket into the flames.**

 **When I caught a whiff of the smoke, I didn't gag.**

 **It smelled nothing like burning food. It smelled of hot chocolate and fresh-baked brownies, hamburgers on the grill and wildflowers, and a hundred other good things that shouldn't have gone well together, but did. I could almost believe the gods could live off that smoke.**

 **When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof again for our attention.**

 **Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels."**

 **A bunch of ugly cheering rose from the Ares table.**

Clarisse look a offended.

 **"Personally," Mr. D continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson."**

"It Percy!" Poseidon cried.

 **Chiron murmured something.**

 **"Er, Percy Jackson," Mr. D corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."**

"Really?" Zeus raise his eyebrows at Dionysus.

 **Everybody cheered. We all headed down toward the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led a sing-along. We sang camp songs about the gods and ate s'mores and joked around, and the funny thing was, I didn't feel that anyone was staring at me anymore. I felt that I was home.**

 **Later in the evening, when the sparks from the campfire were curling into a starry sky, the conch horn blew again, and we all filed back to our cabins. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until I collapsed on my borrowed sleeping bag.**

 **My fingers curled around the Minotaur's horn. I thought about my mom, but I had good thoughts: her smile, the bedtime stories she would read me when I was a kid, the way she would tell me not to let the bedbugs bite.**

 **When I closed my eyes, I fell asleep instantly.**

 **That was my first day at Camp Half-Blood.**

 **I wish I'd known how briefly I would get to enjoy my new home.**

"Finished." Piper said.

"Who want to read next?" Zeus asked.

"Me." Jason said.

Piper handed over the book to Jason.

" **We Capture a Flag**." Jason read out loud.


	9. We Capture a Flag

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

* * *

 **The next few days I settled into a routine that felt almost normal, if you don't count the fact that I was getting lessons from satyrs, nymphs, and a centaur.**

 **Each morning I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth, and we talked about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which was kind of weird. I discovered Annabeth was right about my dyslexia: Ancient Greek wasn't that hard for me to read. At least, no harder than English. After a couple of mornings, I could stumble through a few lines of Homer without too much headache.**

"It pretty useful." Leo said.

The Demigods nodded with a agreement.

 **The rest of the day, I'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something I was good at. Chiron tried to teach me archery—**

Poseidon winced.

 **—but we found out pretty quick I wasn't any good with a bow and arrow.**

"So true." Poseidon sighed.

 **He didn't complain, even when he had to desnag a stray arrow out of his tail.**

Everyone laughed.

 **Foot racing? No good either. The wood-nymph instructors left me in the dust. They told me not to worry about it. They'd had centuries of practice running away from lovesick gods.**

Olympians blushed.

 **But still, it was a little humiliating to be slower than a tree.**

 **And wrestling? Forget it. Every time I got on the mat, Clarisse would pulverize me.**

Clarisse laughed evilly.

 **"There's more where that came from, punk," she'd mumble in my ear.**

 **The only thing I really excelled at was canoeing, and that wasn't the kind of heroic skill people expected to see from the kid who had beaten the Minotaur.**

Everyone expect for Poseidon laughed.

 **I knew the senior campers and counselors were watching me, trying to decide who my dad was, but they weren't having an easy time of it. I wasn't as strong as the Ares kids, or as good at archery as the Apollo kids. I didn't have Hephaestus's skill with metalwork or—gods forbid— Dionysus's way with vine plants.**

Dionysus frowned.

 **Luke told me I might be a child of Hermes, a kind of jack-of-all-trades, master of none.** **But I got the feeling he was just trying to make me feel better.** **He really didn't know what to make of me either.**

 **Despite all that, I liked camp. I got used to the morning fog over the beach, the smell of hot strawberry fields in the afternoon, even the weird noises of monsters in the woods at night.**

"Oh? So I wasn't the only one kept hearing that? I thought I was going insane." Leo shakes his head.

 **I would eat dinner with cabin eleven, scrape part of my meal into the fire, and try to feel some connection to my real dad. Nothing came. Just that warm feeling I'd always had, like the memory of his smile. I tried not to think too much about my mom, but I kept wondering: if gods and monsters were real, if all this magical stuff was possible, surely there was some way to save her, to bring her back...**

Poseidon groaned.

 **I started to understand Luke's bitterness and how he seemed to resent his father, Hermes. So okay, maybe gods had important things to do. But couldn't they call once in a while, or thunder, or something?**

"Stupid law." Poseidon growled.

Everyone agreed.

 **Dionysus could make Diet Coke appear out of thin air. Why couldn't my dad, whoever he was, make a phone appear?**

"Sorry, I cannot." Poseidon said sadly.

 **Thursday afternoon, three days after I'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood, I had my first sword-fighting lesson. Everybody from cabin eleven gathered in the big circular arena, where Luke would be our instructor.**

 **We started with basic stabbing and slashing, using some straw-stuffed dummies in Greek armor. I guess I did okay. At least, I understood what I was supposed to do and my reflexes were good.**

 **The problem was, I couldn't find a blade that felt right in my hands. Either they were too heavy, or too light, or too long. Luke tried his best to fix me up, but he agreed that none of the practice blades seemed to work for me.**

 **We moved on to dueling in pairs. Luke announced he would be my partner, since this was my first time.**

 **"Good luck," one of the campers told me. "Luke's the best swordsman in the last three hundred years."**

Hermes beamed at this.

"But, not anymore. Percy is." Annabeth smirked.

Hermes's smile faded while Poseidon's grin are getting bigger.

 **"Maybe he'll go easy on me," I said.**

 **The camper snorted.**

 **Luke showed me thrusts and parries and shield blocks the hard way. With every swipe, I got a little more battered and bruised. "Keep your guard up, Percy," he'd say, then whap me in the ribs with the flat of his blade. "No, not that far up!" Whap! "Lunge!" Whap! "Now, back!" Whap!**

 **By the time he called a break, I was soaked in sweat. Everybody swarmed the drinks cooler. Luke poured ice water on his head, which looked like such a good idea, I did the same.**

Hermes groaned while Poseidon's put a evil mischievous smile.

 **Instantly, I felt better. Strength surged back into my arms. The sword didn't feel so awkward.**

 **"Okay, everybody circle up!" Luke ordered. "If Percy doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo."**

 **Great, I thought. Let's all watch Percy get pounded.**

 **The Hermes guys gathered around. They were suppressing smiles. I figured they'd been in my shoes before and couldn't wait to see how Luke used me for a punching bag. He told everybody he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique: how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your own sword so that he had no choice but to drop his weapon.**

 **"This is difficult," he stressed. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique."**

 **He demonstrated the move on me in slow motion. Sure enough, the sword clattered out of my hand.**

 **"Now in real time," he said, after I'd retrieved my weapon. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?"**

 **I nodded, and Luke came after me. Somehow, I kept him from getting a shot at the hilt of my sword. My senses opened up. I saw his attacks coming. I countered. I stepped forward and tried a thrust of my own. Luke deflected it easily, but I saw a change in his face. His eyes narrowed, and he started to press me with more force.**

 **The sword grew heavy in my hand. The balance wasn't right. I knew it was only a matter of seconds before Luke took me down, so I figured, What the heck?**

 **I tried the disarming maneuver.**

 **My blade hit the base of Luke's and I twisted, putting my whole weight into a downward thrust.**

Hermes jaw dropped.

 **Clang.**

 **Luke's sword rattled against the stones. The tip of my blade was an inch from his undefended chest.**

 **The other campers were silent.**

 **I lowered my sword. "Um, sorry."**

"What the fuck, Percy?!" Thalia screamed.

"He is seriously apologize for winning? That blockhead!" Clarisse screamed and then facepalmed.

 **For a moment, Luke was too stunned to speak.**

 **"Sorry?" His scarred face broke into a grin. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!"**

 **I didn't want to. The short burst of manic energy had completely abandoned me. But Luke insisted.**

 **This time, there was no contest. The moment our swords connected, Luke hit my hilt and sent my weapon skidding across the floor.**

 **After a long pause, somebody in the audience said, "Beginner's luck?"**

 **Luke wiped the sweat off his brow. He appraised at me with an entirely new interest. "Maybe," he said. "But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword... ."**

 **Friday afternoon, I was sitting with Grover at the lake, resting from a near-death experience on the climbing wall.**

"WHAT?!" Poseidon screamed and grabbed his Trident and about to blast the climbing wall.

Luckily he missed.

"Calm down brother." Zeus said panicky.

"If my son dies. I'm blaming your son, Dionysus." Poseidon snarled.

Zeus and Dionysus was trembling in fear.

 **Grover had scampered to the top like a mountain goat, but the lava had almost gotten me. My shirt had smoking holes in it. The hairs had been singed off my forearms.**

 **We sat on the pier, watching the naiads do underwater basket-weaving, until I got up the nerve to ask Grover how his conversation had gone with Mr. D.**

 **His face turned a sickly shade of yellow.**

 **"Fine," he said. "Just great."**

 **"So your career's still on track?"**

 **He glanced at me nervously. "Chiron t-told you I want a searcher's license?"**

 **"Well... no." I had no idea what a searcher's license was, but it didn't seem like the right time to ask. "He just said you had big plans, you know ... and that you needed credit for completing a keeper's assignment. So did you get it?"**

 **Grover looked down at the naiads. "Mr. D suspended judgment. He said I hadn't failed or succeeded with you yet, so our fates were still tied together. If you got a quest and I went along to protect you, and we both came back alive, then maybe he'd consider the job complete."**

 **My spirits lifted. "Well, that's not so bad, right?"**

 **"Blaa-ha-ha! He might as well have transferred me to stable-cleaning duty. The chances of you getting a quest... and even if you did, why would you want me along?"**

 **"Of course I'd want you along!"**

 **Grover stared glumly into the water. "Basket-weaving...Must be nice to have a useful skill."**

"Really?"

 **I tried to reassure him that he had lots of talents, but that just made him look more miserable. We talked about canoeing and swordplay for a while, then debated the pros and cons of the different gods. Finally, I asked him about the four empty cabins.**

 **"Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis," he said. "She vowed to be a maiden forever. So of course, no kids. The cabin is, you know, honorary. If she didn't have one, she'd be mad."**

"Well. That true." Artemis shrugged.

Apollo muttered about _don't make Artemis piss_.

 **"Yeah, okay. But the other three, the ones at the end. Are those the Big Three?"**

 **Grover tensed. We were getting close to a touchy subject. "No. One of them, number two, is Hera's," he said. "That's another honorary thing. She's the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals. That's her husband's job. When we say the Big Three, we mean the three powerful brothers, the sons of Kronos."**

 **"Zeus, Poseidon, Hades."**

 **"Right. You know. After the great battle with the Titans, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what."**

 **"Zeus got the sky," I remembered. "Poseidon the sea, Hades the Underworld."**

 **"Uh-huh."**

 **"But Hades doesn't have a cabin here."**

 **"No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either. He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld. If he did have a cabin here..." Grover shuddered. "Well, it wouldn't be pleasant. Let's leave it at that."**

Nico look a offended.

"How could you?!" Nico screamed.

"Don't worry. In the future, Hades have now has a cabin after the Titan War. Remember?" Annabeth reminded Nico.

"But still..."

 **"But Zeus and Poseidon—they both had, like, a bazillion kids in the myths.**

"Really? I have only has couple kids." Poseidon said.

"Me too." Hades said.

"Brother?! Since when you regain your consciousness?! Poseidon asked suspiciously.

"Um. Never mind that." Hades said nervously.

"Well..Zeus have a twenty or more children." Hades said.

Hera slapped Zeus.

"OW!"

 **Why are their cabins empty?"**

 **Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably. "About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes. Their children were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage. World War II, you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other. The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx."**

"It now broken." Thalia said.

 **Thunder boomed.**

Same here.

 **I said, "That's the most serious oath you can make."**

 **Grover nodded.**

 **"And the brothers kept their word—no kids?"**

The Demigods chuckled.

 **Grover's face darkened.**

"Oooooh! Dramatic-Grover-mode!" The Stolls snickered.

 **"Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon.**

"WHAT?!" Hera roared and then slapped Zeus.

 **There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo—he just couldn't help himself. When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia..Well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."**

Zeus and Jason gasped. _What terrible fate?!_

 **"But that isn't fair.' It wasn't the little girl's fault."**

"Really Kelp Head? A little girl? Dumbass." Thalia rolled her eyes.

 **Grover hesitated. "Percy, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods. They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia.**

Zeus grabbed his master-bolt and about to blast Hades to pieces, but luckily Hades vanished somewhere in the room that Zeus's won't able to find him until Zeus calm down.

 **A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They almost made it.**

Zeus and Jason paled. _Almost?_

 **They got all the way to the top of that hill."**

 **He pointed across the valley, to the pine tree where I'd fought the minotaur. "All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a horde of hellhounds.**

Zeus and Jason whimpered.

 **They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters. She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal.**

Thalia looked down at the floor in fear.

 **The satyr didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill.**

Jason started to cry and run to hug his sister to make sure that she is alive and well.

 **As she died—**

Zeus looked sad at the minute and then turn furious in a next minute.

"HADES! YOU BASTARD! COME OUT BEFORE I MAKE YOU FADED! I WILL KILL YOU! I DEFINITELY MURDER YOU **(A/N: I always want to know about Zeus's and Jason's reaction about Thalia knowing she was a tree and after she died.)** SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY!" Zeus roared.

"Calm down brother." Hestia tried to calm her brother down, but unfortunately Zeus's temper is getting deadly dangerous.

"SHUT UP! HADES YOU SON OF !#?!%! COME OUT!" Zeus bellowed while outside's weather is like a tornado that is a category five and with thunder storms with deadly lightning, like a world have never seen.

Luckily Poseidon put a unbreakable-bubble on Zeus.

 **—Zeus took pity on her. He turned her into that pine tree.**

For the those who haven't heard about Thalia's story look at Thalia in a pity.

Thalia sighed.

"I don't want your pity." Thalia said ( **A/N: That line sound familiar, right? I don't know what it came from! Lol!** ) bitterly.

 **Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill."**

Jason look sad.

 **I stared at the pine in the distance.**

 **The story made me feel hollow, and guilty too. A girl my age had sacrificed herself to save her friends. She had faced a whole army of monsters. Next to that, my victory over the Minotaur didn't seem like much. I wondered, if I'd acted differently, could I have saved my mother?**

 **"Grover," I said, "have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?"**

Poseidon groaned while Hades is grinning.

 **"Sometimes," he said. "Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini."**

 **"And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?"**

 **"No. Never. Orpheus came close... Percy, you're not seriously thinking—"**

"Yep! He is!" Hades and Nico chorused.

 **"No," I lied. "I was just wondering. So...A satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?"**

 **Grover studied me warily. I hadn't persuaded him that I'd really dropped the Underworld idea. "Not always. We go undercover to a lot of schools. We try to sniff out the half-bloods who have the makings of great heroes. If we find one with a very strong aura, like a child of the Big Three, we alert Chiron. He tries to keep an eye on them, since they could cause really huge problems."**

 **"And you found me. Chiron said you thought I might be something special."**

 **Grover looked as if I'd just led him into a trap. "I didn't... Oh, listen, don't think like that. If you were—you know—you'd never ever be allowed a quest, and I'd never get my license. You're probably a child of Hermes. Or maybe even one of the minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge. Don't worry, okay?"**

"Erm...Grover Nemesis is a _goddess_ of revenge." Annabeth said.

"Well..Grover is lucky that Nemesis isn't here." Apollo grumbled.

 **I got the idea he was reassuring himself more than me.**

 **That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual.**

 **At last, it was time for capture the flag.**

"Finally!" Clarisse grinned.

 **When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and we all stood at our tables.**

 **Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.**

 **I turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?"**

"Uh—yeah. Duh." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

 **"Yeah."**

 **"Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"**

"Yeah." Clarisse and Annabeth said at the same time.

 **"Not always," he said. "But often."**

 **"So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do— repaint the flag?"**

 **He grinned. "You'll see. First we have to get one."**

 **"Whose side are we on?"**

 **He gave me a sly look, as if he knew something I didn't. The scar on his face made him look almost evil in the torchlight.**

For the those who know Luke look down with a sad expression.

 **"We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you are going to help."**

 **The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins. Apparently, privileges had been traded—shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities—in order to win support.**

 **Ares had allied themselves with everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. From what I'd seen, Dionysus's kids were actually good athletes, but there were only two of them.**

Dionysus beamed while the survivors of the Titan War tried to not to cry.

 **Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff but they weren't very aggressive. Aphrodite's sons and daughters I wasn't too worried about. They mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped.**

Piper rolled her eyes. _Damn right._

 **Hephaestus's kids weren't pretty, and there were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. They might be a problem. That, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest, ugliest, meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet.**

"Hey! We aren't always mean!" Clarisse protected.

"Oh oh oh! Really? What was the last time that you are nice?" Annabeth challenged.

"Oh! Uh...l think it was seventeen years ago..." Clarisse muttered.

 **Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.**

 **"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"**

 **He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxhide shields coated in metal.**

 **"Whoa," I said. "We're really supposed to use these?"**

"Uh yes. Unless you want to get yourself killed." Annabeth glared at the book.

 **Luke looked at me as if I were crazy.**

"You always been crazy." Thalia said.

"And a badass." Frank said.

 **"Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in cabin five. Here—Chiron thought these would fit. You'll be on border patrol."**

 **My shield was the size of an NBA backboard, with a big caduceus in the middle. It weighed about a million pounds. I could have snowboarded on it fine, but I hoped nobody seriously expected me to run fast. My helmet, like all the helmets on Athena's side, had a blue horsehair plume on top. Ares and their allies had red plumes.**

 **Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"**

Athena beamed.

 **We cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at us as they headed off toward the north.**

 **I managed to catch up with Annabeth without tripping over my equipment. "Hey."**

 **She kept marching.**

"Oooooh rejection!" The Stolls snickered.

The next thing the Stolls knew they were on the ground.

"Shut up." Annabeth give a I'll-kill-you-if-you-keep-talking stare, but it wasn't good as Percy Jackson's stare. But still scary.

"Yes ma'am."

 **"So what's the plan?" I asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?"**

 **Her hand drifted toward her pocket, as if she were afraid I'd stolen something.**

"What? I thought that he is a child of Hermes." Annabeth said.

 **"Just watch Clarisse's spear," she said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"**

 **"Border patrol, whatever that means."**

 **"It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan."**

The Demigods groaned.

"What the fuck that you have to say that quote. It is getting old." Thalia complained.

"Oh shut up Thalia."

 **She pushed ahead, leaving me in the dust.**

"Ooh rejec—"

The Stolls got punched in the face.

"OW!"

"Have you ever heard of the word of shut up?!" Annabeth said angrily.

 **"Okay," I mumbled. "Glad you wanted me on your team."**

 **It was a warm, sticky night. The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view. Annabeth stationed me next to a little creek that gurgled over some rocks, then she and the rest of the team scattered into the trees.**

 **Standing there alone, with my big blue-feathered helmet and my huge shield, I felt like an idiot.**

Everyone facepalmed.

 **The bronze sword, like all the swords I'd tried so far, seemed balanced wrong.**

"All you need a sea or a ocean sword." Poseidon said.

 **The leather grip pulled on my hand like a bowling ball.**

 **There was no way anybody would actually attack me, would they? I mean, Olympus had to have liability issues, right?**

"So true." The Olympians grumbled.

 **Far away, the conch horn blew. I heard whoops and yells in the woods, the clanking of metal, kids fighting. A blue-plumed ally from Apollo raced past me like a deer, leaped through the creek, and disappeared into enemy territory.**

 **Great, I thought. I'll miss all the fun, as usual.**

The Demigods chuckled.

 **Then I heard a sound that sent a chill up my spine, a low canine growl, somewhere close by.**

Annabeth gasped. _Luke._

 **I raised my shield instinctively; I had the feeling something was stalking me.**

"He knew?" Annabeth muttered quietly.

 **Then the growling stopped. I felt the presence retreating.**

 **On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark.**

 **"Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed.**

Poseidon clenched his Trident tighter and his knuckle is getting white.

 **Her ugly pig eyes glared through the slits of her helmet. She brandished a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light. Her siblings had only the standard-issue bronze swords—not that that made me feel any better.**

 **They charged across the stream. There was no help in sight. I could run. Or I could defend myself against half the Ares cabin.**

 **I managed to sidestep the first kid's swing, but these guys were not as stupid the Minotaur. They surrounded me, and Clarisse thrust at me with her spear. My shield deflected the point, but I felt a painful tingling all over my body. My hair stood on end. My shield arm went numb, and the air burned.**

 **Electricity. Her stupid spear was electric. I fell back.**

 **Another Ares guy slammed me in the chest with the butt of his sword and I hit the dirt.**

 **They could've kicked me into jelly, but they were too busy laughing.**

 **"Give him a haircut," Clarisse said. "Grab his hair."**

Poseidon becoming very angry and transformed Clarisse into a horse.

 **I managed to get to my feet. I raised my sword, but Clarisse slammed it aside with her spear as sparks flew. Now both my arms felt numb.**

 **"Oh, wow," Clarisse said. "I'm scared of this guy. Really scared."**

"Bitch." Thalia growled.

Hera gasped.

"LANGUAGE!"

"Shut up bitchy queen."

Hera's face went red and you could see her steam that coming out of her ears.

 **"The flag is that way," I told her. I wanted to sound angry, but I was afraid it didn't come out that way.**

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Of course. It didn't."

 **"Yeah," one of her siblings said. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid."**

 **"You do that without my help," I told them. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say.**

"It wasn't?" Leo said innocently.

 **Two of them came at me. I backed up toward the creek, tried to raise my shield, but Clarisse was too fast. Her spear stuck me straight in the ribs. If I hadn't been wearing an armored breastplate, I would've been shish-ke-babbed. As it was, the electric point just about shocked my teeth out of my mouth. One of her cabinmates slashed his sword across my arm, leaving a good-size cut.**

 **Seeing my own blood made me dizzy—warm and cold at the same time.**

"Very bitchy Clarisse." Thalia growled.

 **"No maiming," I managed to say.**

 **"Oops," the guy said. "Guess I lost my dessert privilege.**

"The fuck?! WHAT KIND OF RULE IS THAT?! DIONYSUS!" Poseidon roared and entered rage mode.

Dionysus gulped.

"Y-yes milord?" Dionysus asked with a nervous expression.

"You. Better. Change. The. Rules." Poseidon give a or-I'll-make-you-faded.

"Y-yes milord."

 **He pushed me into the creek and I landed with a splash.**

Poseidon grinned.

 **They all laughed. I figured as soon as they were through being amused, I would die. But then something happened. The water seemed to wake up my senses, as if I'd just had a bag of my mom's double-espresso jelly beans.**

"Ooh! That must be tasty!" Apollo and Hermes drooled.

 **Clarisse and her cabinmates came into the creek to get me, but I stood to meet them. I knew what to do. I swung the flat of my sword against the first guy's head and knocked his helmet clean off. I hit him so hard I could see his eyes vibrating as he crumpled into the water.**

 **Ugly Number Two and Ugly Number Three came at me. I slammed one in the face with my shield and used my sword to shear off the other guy's horsehair plume. Both of them backed up quick. Ugly Number Four didn't look really anxious to attack, but Clarisse kept coming, the point of her spear crackling with energy. As soon as she thrust, I caught the shaft between the edge of my shield and my sword, and I snapped it like a twig.**

 **"Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!"**

 **She probably would've said worse, but I smacked her between the eyes with my sword-butt and sent her stumbling backward out of the creek.**

 **Then I heard yelling, elated screams, and I saw Luke racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollos behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids. The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse.**

 **"A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick."**

"Ooh!" Leo said with a dawn of realization.

 **They staggered after Luke, but it was too late. Everybody converged on the creek as Luke ran across into friendly territory. Our side exploded into cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned to silver. The boar and spear were replaced with a huge caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven. Everybody on the blue team picked up Luke and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn.**

 **The game was over. We'd won.**

 **I was about to join the celebration when Annabeth's voice, right next to me in the creek, said, "Not bad, hero."**

 **I looked, but she wasn't there.**

 **"Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" she asked. The air shimmered, and she materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off her head.**

 **I felt myself getting angry. I wasn't even fazed by the fact that she'd just been invisible. "You set me up," I said. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out."**

"Smart."

 **Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."**

 **"A plan to get me pulverized."**

Poseidon nodded with a agreement.

"You nearly got my son killed."

"Sorry, milord."

 **"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but ..." She shrugged. "You didn't need help."**

 **Then she noticed my wounded arm. "How did you do that?"**

 **"Sword cut," I said. "What do you think?"**

 **"No. It was a sword cut. Look at it."**

 **The blood was gone. Where the huge cut had been, there was a long white scratch, and even that was fading. As I watched, it turned into a small scar, and disappeared.**

"Wow! No way!" Leo exclaimed.

 **"I—I don't get it," I said.**

 **Annabeth was thinking hard. I could almost see the gears turning. She looked down at my feet, then at Clarisse's broken spear, and said, "Step out of the water, Percy."**

 **"What—"**

 **"Just do it."**

"Such a demanding." Leo said.

Leo got slapped on the head.

"Shut up."

 **I came out of the creek and immediately felt bone tired. My arms started to go numb again. My adrenaline rush left me. I almost fell over, but Annabeth steadied me.**

 **"Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want ... I assumed it would be Zeus..."**

Zeus glared at Annabeth.

"Sorry."

 **Before I could ask what she meant, I heard that canine growl again, but much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest.**

Poseidon whimpered.

 **The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek, which I would realize, only later, I had understood perfectly: "Stand ready! My bow!"**

 **Annabeth drew her sword.**

 **There on the rocks just above us was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers.**

 **It was looking straight at me.**

Poseidon groaned.

 **Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled, "Percy, run!"**

"YES! PLEASE DO PERCY!" Poseidon shouted.

 **She tried to step in front of me, but the hound was too fast. It leaped over her—an enormous shadow with teeth—and just as it hit me, as I stumbled backward and felt its razor-sharp claws ripping through my armor, there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. From the hounds neck sprouted a cluster of arrows. The monster fell dead at my feet.**

 **By some miracle, I was still alive.**

Poseidon sighed with a relief. _Thanks Zeus._

Zeus turned and look at Poseidon with a offended look.

 **I didn't want to look underneath the ruins of my shredded armor. My chest felt warm and wet, and I knew I was badly cut. Another second, and the monster would've turned me into a hundred pounds of delicatessen meat.**

 **Chiron trotted up next to us, a bow in his hand, his face grim.**

 **"Di immortales!" Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't...they're not supposed to..."**

 **"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."**

 **Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone.**

 **Clarisse yelled, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"**

Poseidon glared at Clarisse the horse.

 **"Be quiet, child," Chiron told her.**

 **We watched the body of the hellhound melt into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared.**

 **"You're wounded," Annabeth told me. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."**

 **"I'm okay."**

 **"No, you're not," she said. "Chiron, watch this."**

 **I was too tired to argue. I stepped back into the creek, the whole camp gathering around me.**

 **Instantly, I felt better. I could feel the cuts on my chest closing up. Some of the campers gasped.**

 **"Look, I—I don't know why," I said, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry..."**

"Dumbass." Thalia rolled her eyes.

 **But they weren't watching my wounds heal. They were staring at something above my head.**

 **"Percy," Annabeth said, pointing. "Um ..."**

 **By the time I looked up, the sign was already fading, but I could still make out the hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three-tipped spear: a trident.**

 **"Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is really not good."**

"It really wasn't. Zeus broke the oath twice and Poseidon broke the oath once. It really not good." Annabeth said seriously.

 **"It is determined," Chiron announced.**

 **All around me, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it.**

 **"My father?" I asked, completely bewildered.**

 **"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."**

"Dramatic." Zeus snickered.

"Finished." Jason said.

"Who want to read next?" Hera asked.

"Me." Hades said.

Jason handed over the book to the Lord of the dead.

" **I Am Offered a Quest**." Hades read out loud.


	10. I Am Offered a Quest

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

 **Sorry for a long time update...I was just going to the funeral for my beloved second favorite character of Percy Jackson. I cried after I read _The Burning Maze_. I just couldn't believe it that Jason Grace is dead. ,_, After I read it, I ended up locked up in my room for a week and only came out for food and bathroom.** **;-; I'm pretty depressed about it though.**

* * *

"Great. Just great." Poseidon groaned.

 **The next morning, Chiron moved me to cabin three.**

 **I didn't have to share with anybody. I had plenty of room for all my stuff: the Minotaur's horn, one set of spare clothes, and a toiletry bag. I got to sit at my own dinner table, pick all my own activities, call "lights out" whenever I felt like it, and not listen to anybody else.**

 **And I was absolutely miserable.**

 **Just when I'd started to feel accepted, to feel I had a home in cabin eleven and I might be a normal kid—or as normal as you can be when you're a half-blood—I'd been separated out as if I had some rare disease.**

Jason, Nico, Hazel, and Thalia grimaced.

"I definitely know how you feel man." Jason said dryly.

"No kidding." Thalia added.

 **Nobody mentioned the hellhound, but I got the feeling they were all talking about it behind my back. The attack had scared everybody. It sent two messages: one, that I was the son of the Sea God; and two, monsters would stop at nothing to kill me.**

"It a curse from a Styx. For breaking the oath. Just like Thalia, a terrible price and fates." Annabeth said sadly.

Zeus look down when Annabeth mentioned Thalia.

 **They could even invade a camp that had always been considered safe.**

 **The other campers steered clear of me as much as possible. Cabin eleven was too nervous to have sword class with me after what I'd done to the Ares folks in the woods, so my lessons with Luke became one-on-one. He pushed me harder than ever, and wasn't afraid to bruise me up in the process.**

"How could him!? Poseidon growled and clenched his Trident.

"Lord Poseidon, you should be glad that Luke trained him or he was be like squished like a bug." Annabeth reminded Poseidon.

 **"You're going to need all the training you can get," he promised, as we were working with swords and flaming torches. "Now let's try that viper-beheading strike again. Fifty more repetitions."**

 **Annabeth still taught me Greek in the mornings, but she seemed distracted. Every time I said something, she scowled at me, as if I'd just poked her between the eyes.**

 **After lessons, she would walk away muttering to herself: "Quest ... Poseidon? ... Dirty rotten ... Got to make a plan ..."**

Annabeth blushed furiously.

Athena laughed, while Poseidon glared at Athena.

 **Even Clarisse kept her distance, though her venomous looks made it clear she wanted to kill me for breaking her magic spear. I wished she would just yell or punch me or something. I'd rather get into fights every day than be ignored.**

"Aww..Prissy, I would love it. All you need to do is, ask." Clarisse grinned.

 **I knew somebody at camp resented me, because one night I came into my cabin and found a mortal newspaper dropped inside the doorway, a copy of the New York Daily News, opened to the Metro page. The article took me almost an hour to read, because the angrier I got, the more the words floated around on the page.**

"Stupid dyslexia and ADHD." Demigods grumbled.

 **BOY AND MOTHER STILL MISSING AFTER**

 **FREAK CAR ACCIDENT**

 **BY EILEEN SMYTHE**

 **Sally Jackson and son Percy are still missing one week after their mysterious disappearance. The family's badly burned '78 Camaro was discovered last Saturday on a north Long Island road with the roof ripped off and the front axle broken. The car had flipped and skidded for several hundred feet before exploding.**

At this point, Poseidon glared at Zeus.

 **Mother and son had gone for a weekend vacation to Montauk, but left hastily, under mysterious circumstances. Small traces of blood were found in the car and near the scene of the wreck, but there were no other signs of the missing Jacksons. Residents in the rural area reported seeing nothing unusual around the time of the accident.**

 **Ms. Jackson's husband, Gabe Ugliano, claims that his stepson, Percy Jackson, is a troubled child who has been kicked out of numerous boarding schools and has expressed violent tendencies in the past.**

Everyone gritted their teeth and look like they're going murder Gade in his sleep.

 **Police would not say whether son Percy is a suspect in his mother's disappearance—**

"WHAT?! He literally was running away from that dam ( **Get it? That joke, from a Hoover Dam from The Titan's Curse?** ) monster!" Poseidon screamed.

"Uncle P, calm down. It the mist." Apollo said.

"I WON'T CARE, NOW THE MIST LETTING MY SON FOR BEING A !# !?% SUSPECT FOR A !# !?% AND YOU TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN?!" Poseidon roared and use his Trident to turned Apollo to a raining cloud.

 **—but they have not ruled out foul play. Below are recent pictures of Sally Jackson and Percy. Police urge anyone with information to call the following toll-free crime-stoppers hotline.**

 **The phone number was circled in black marker.**

 **I wadded up the paper and threw it away, then flopped down in my bunk bed in the middle of my empty cabin.**

 **"Lights out," I told myself miserably.**

 **That night, I had my worst dream yet.**

Demigods groaned.

"What wrong?" Hermes asked.

"Percy, got a worst Demigod dream in a history." Leo said.

"No kidding." Jason said.

Poseidon paled.

 **I was running along the beach in a storm. This time, there was a city behind me. Not New York. The sprawl was different: buildings spread farther apart, palm trees and low hills in the distance.**

 **About a hundred yards down the surf, two men were fighting. They looked like TV wrestlers, muscular, with beards and long hair. Both wore flowing Greek tunics, one trimmed in blue, the other in green.**

Zeus and Poseidon stared at each other.

 **They grappled with each other, wrestled, kicked and head-butted, and every time they connected, lightning flashed, the sky grew darker, and the wind rose.**

 **I had to stop them. I didn't know why. But the harder I ran, the more the wind blew me back, until I was running in place, my heels digging uselessly in the sand.**

 **Over the roar of the storm, I could hear the blue-robed one yelling at the green-robed one, Give it back! Give it back!**

Zeus frowned. _It?_

 **Like a kindergartner fighting over a toy.**

Athena chuckled.

 **The waves got bigger, crashing into the beach, spraying me with salt.**

 **I yelled, Stop it! Stop fighting!**

"Really? No wonder they fight. It been over a millennias ever since Zeus' birth." Hestia glared at her brothers.

 **The ground shook. Laughter came from somewhere under the earth, and a voice so deep and evil it turned my blood to ice.**

The big three stared at Hades.

 **Come down, little hero, the voice crooned. Come down!**

 **The sand split beneath me, opening up a crevice straight down to the center of the earth. My feet slipped, and darkness swallowed me.**

 **I woke up, sure I was falling.**

Leo sighed.

"I know that feeling."

 **I was still in bed in cabin three. My body told me it was morning, but it was dark outside, and thunder rolled across the hills. A storm was brewing. I hadn't dreamed that.**

 **I heard a clopping sound at the door, a hoof knocking on the threshold.**

 **"Come in?"**

 **Grover trotted inside, looking worried. "Mr. D wants to see you."**

 **"Why?"**

 **"He wants to kill... I mean, I'd better let him tell you."**

Poseidon glared at Dionysus.

"If you kill my son, I will turn you into a grapefruit for a millennia."

Dionysus gulped nervously.

 **Nervously, I got dressed and followed, sure that I was in huge trouble.**

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Like always."

 **For days, I'd been half expecting a summons to the Big House. Now that I was declared a son of Poseidon, one of the Big Three gods who weren't supposed to have kids, I figured it was a crime for me just to be alive.**

"So true." Someone muttered.

 **The other gods had probably been debating the best way to punish me for existing, and now Mr. D was ready to deliver their verdict.**

 **Over Long Island Sound, the sky looked like ink soup coming to a boil. A hazy curtain of rain was coming in our direction. I asked Grover if we needed an umbrella.**

 **"No," he said. "It never rains here unless we want it to."**

 **I pointed at the storm. "What the heck is that, then?"**

 **He glanced uneasily at the sky. "It'll pass around us. Bad weather always does."**

 **I realized he was right. In the week I'd been here, it had never even been overcast. The few rain clouds I'd seen had skirted right around the edges of the valley.**

 **But this storm ... this one was huge.**

Zeus raised his eyebrows.

 **At the volleyball pit, the kids from Apollo's cabin were playing a morning game against the satyrs. Dionysus's twins were walking around in the strawberry fields, making the plants grow. Everybody was going about their normal business, but they looked tense. They kept their eyes on the storm.**

 **Grover and I walked up to the front porch of the Big House. Dionysus sat at the pinochle table in his tiger-striped Hawaiian shirt with his Diet Coke, just as he had on my first day. Chiron sat across the table in his fake wheelchair. They were playing against invisible opponents-two sets of cards hovering in the air.**

 **"Well, well," Mr. D said without looking up. "Our little celebrity."**

 **I waited.**

 **"Come closer," Mr. D said. "And don't expect me to kowtow to you, mortal, just because old Barnacle-Beard is your father."**

"What up with those nicknames?" Poseidon complained.

"What? I got it from Athena." Dionysus defended.

 **A net of lightning flashed across the clouds. Thunder shook the windows of the house.**

 **"Blah, blah, blah," Dionysus said.**

 **Chiron feigned interest in his pinochle cards. Grover cowered by the railing, his hooves clopping back and forth.**

 **"If I had my way," Dionysus said, "I would cause your molecules to erupt in flames. We'd sweep up the ashes and be done with a lot of trouble. But Chiron seems to feel this would be against my mission at this cursed camp: to keep you little brats safe from harm."**

 **"Spontaneous combustion is a form of harm, Mr. D," Chiron put in.**

 **"Nonsense," Dionysus said. "Boy wouldn't feel a thing. Nevertheless, I've agreed to restrain myself I'm thinking of turning you into a dolphin instead, sending you back to your father."**

Poseidon have enough, he turned Dionysus into a grapefruit and sending to Zeus.

 **"Mr. D—" Chiron warned.**

 **"Oh, all right," Dionysus relented. "There's one more option. But it's deadly foolishness." Dionysus rose, and the invisible players' cards dropped to the table. "I'm off to Olympus for the emergency meeting. If the boy is still here when I get back, I'll turn him into an Atlantic bottlenose. Do you understand? And Perseus Jackson, if you're at all smart, you'll see that's a much more sensible choice than what Chiron feels you must do."**

 **Dionysus picked up a playing card, twisted it, and it became a plastic rectangle. A credit card? No. A security pass.**

 **He snapped his fingers.**

 **The air seemed to fold and bend around him. He became a hologram, then a wind, then he was gone, leaving only the smell of fresh-pressed grapes lingering behind.**

 **Chiron smiled at me, but he looked tired and strained. "Sit, Percy, please. And Grover."**

 **We did.**

 **Chiron laid his cards on the table, a winning hand he hadn't gotten to use.**

 **"Tell me, Percy," he said. "What did you make of the hellhound?"**

 **Just hearing the name made me shudder.**

 **Chiron probably wanted me to say, Heck, it was nothing. I eat hellhounds for breakfast. But I didn't feel like lying.**

"Good." Hera nodded with a approval.

 **"It scared me," I said. "If you hadn't shot it, I'd be dead."**

 **"You'll meet worse, Percy. Far worse, before you're done."**

 **"Done ... with what?"**

 **"Your quest, of course. Will you accept it?"**

 **I glanced at Grover, who was crossing his fingers.**

 **"Um, sir," I said, "you haven't told me what it is yet."**

 **Chiron grimaced. "Well, that's the hard part, the details."**

 **Thunder rumbled across the valley. The storm clouds had now reached the edge of the beach. As far as I could see, the sky and the sea were boiling together.**

 **"Poseidon and Zeus," I said. "They're fighting over something valuable ... something that was stolen, aren't they?"**

Zeus and Poseidon lended forward.

 **Chiron and Grover exchanged looks.**

 **Chiron sat forward in his wheelchair. "How did you know that?"**

 **My face felt hot. I wished I hadn't opened my big mouth. "The weather since Christmas has been weird, like the sea and the sky are fighting. Then I talked to Annabeth, and she'd overheard something about a theft. And ... I've also been having these dreams."**

 **"I knew it," Grover said.**

 **"Hush, satyr," Chiron ordered.**

 **"But it is his quest!" Grover's eyes were bright with excitement. "It must be!"**

 **"Only the Oracle can determine." Chiron stroked his bristly beard. "Nevertheless, Percy, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be precise: a lightning bolt."**

"POSEIDON!" Zeus roared.

"OH C'MON! WHY I'M ALWAYS GET BLAMED!?" Poseidon whined.

"YOU DARE HAVE STOLEN MY BELOVED MASTER BLOT!"

"Wait...Beloved?" Poseidon asked couldn't help with a snicker.

Zeus blushed.

"I-I-I mean.."

"BUAHAHA!" Poseidon laughed evilly for a another gorgeous blackmail.

Zeus blushed furiously.

"!# !?% Poseidon!" Zeus yelled.

 **I laughed nervously. "A what?"**

 **"Do not take this lightly," Chiron warned. "I'm not talking about some tinfoil-covered zigzag you'd see in a second-grade play. I'm talking about a two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives."**

Leo's eyes grew wide.

 **"Oh."**

 **"Zeus's master bolt," Chiron said, getting worked up now. "The symbol of his power, from which all other lightning bolts are patterned. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers."**

 **"And it's missing?"**

 **"Stolen," Chiron said.**

 **"By who?"**

 **"By whom," Chiron corrected. Once a teacher, always a teacher. "By you."**

Olympians jaw dropped.

Poseidon entered rage-mode.

"ZEUS, MY SON ISN'T THE THIEF, HE JUST LEARNED THAT GREEK MYTHOLOGY EXISTED! AND NOW, YOU ARE MOTHER- !# !?% BLAMING MY SON! FOR GODS DAMN SAKE!" Poseidon yelled furiously at Zeus and used his Trident on Zeus to changed him to a teenager.

"POSEIDON!" Zeus squeaked.

"No, I'm not changing you back period."

Zeus grumbled.

 **My mouth fell open.**

 **"At least"—Chiron held up a hand—"that's what Zeus thinks. During the winter solstice, at the last council of the gods, Zeus and Poseidon had an argument. The usual nonsense: 'Mother Rhea always liked you best', 'Air disasters are more spectacular than sea disasters,' et cetera. Afterward, Zeus realized his master bolt was missing, taken from the throne room under his very nose. He immediately blamed Poseidon.**

"Like always," Poseidon grumbled. "Even when someone stole your Gods damn cupcake, and immediately blamed on me. But it was actually Hermes stole it."

"HEY!"

 **Now, a god cannot usurp another god's symbol of power directly—that is forbidden by the most ancient of divine laws. But Zeus believes your father convinced a human hero to take it."**

 **"But I didn't—"**

 **"Patience and listen, child," Chiron said. "Zeus has good reason to be suspicious. The forges of the Cyclopes are under the ocean, which gives Poseidon some influence over the makers of his brother's lightning. Zeus believes Poseidon has taken the master bolt, and is now secretly having the Cyclopes build an arsenal of illegal copies, which might be used to topple Zeus from his throne. The only thing Zeus wasn't sure about was which hero Poseidon used to steal the bolt. Now Poseidon has openly claimed you as his son. You were in New York over the winter holidays. You could easily have snuck into Olympus. Zeus believes he has found his thief."**

Zeus shrink under Poseidon's famous death glare.

 **"But I've never even been to Olympus! Zeus is crazy!"**

The thunder rumbles.

 **Chiron and Grover glanced nervously at the sky. The clouds didn't seem to be parting around us, as Grover had promised. They were rolling straight over our valley, sealing us in like a coffin lid.**

 **"Er, Percy ...?" Grover said. "We don't use the c-word to describe the Lord of the Sky."**

"Exactly!"

 **"Perhaps paranoid," Chiron suggested.**

Zeus frowned.

 **"Then again, Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before. I believe that was question thirty-eight on your final exam..." He looked at me as if he actually expected me to remember question thirty-eight.**

 **How could anyone accuse me of stealing a god's weapon? I couldn't even steal a slice of pizza from Gabe's poker party without getting busted.**

Everyone growled.

 **Chiron was waiting for an answer.**

 **"Something about a golden net?" I guessed. "Poseidon and Hera and a few other gods ... they, like, trapped Zeus and wouldn't let him out until he promised to be a better ruler, right?"**

 **"Correct," Chiron said. "And Zeus has never trusted Poseidon since. Of course, Poseidon denies stealing the master bolt. He took great offense at the accusation. The two have been arguing back and forth for months, threatening war. And now, you've come along—the proverbial last straw."**

 **"But I'm just a kid!"**

 **"Percy," Grover cut in, "if you were Zeus, and you already thought your brother was plotting to overthrow you, then your brother suddenly admitted he had broken the sacred oath he took after World War II, that he's fathered a new mortal hero who might be used as a weapon against you... Wouldn't that put a twist in your toga?"**

Everyone expect Zeus laughing their ass off.

 **"But I didn't do anything. Poseidon—my dad—he didn't really have this master bolt stolen, did he?"**

"Exactly! At least that my son is on my side!"

 **Chiron sighed. "Most thinking observers would agree that thievery is not Poseidon's style. But the Sea God is too proud to try convincing Zeus of that. Zeus has demanded that Poseidon return the bolt by the summer solstice. That's June twenty-first, ten days from now. Poseidon wants an apology for being called a thief by the same date. I hoped that diplomacy might prevail, that Hera or Demeter or Hestia would make the two brothers see sense. But your arrival has inflamed Zeus's temper. Now neither god will back down. Unless someone intervenes, unless the master bolt is found and returned to Zeus before the solstice, there will be war. And do you know what a full-fledged war would look like, Percy?"**

 **"Bad?" I guessed.**

"You guess?!" Zeus roared.

 **"Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight."**

 **"Bad," I repeated.**

 **"And you, Percy Jackson, would be the first to feel Zeus's wrath."**

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Like always."

 **It started to rain. Volleyball players stopped their game and stared in stunned silence at the sky.**

 **I had brought this storm to Half-Blood Hill. Zeus was punishing the whole camp because of me. I was furious.**

"Oh no, a furious-mode Percy. This isn't good." The Stolls whimpered.

"Agreed. Never ever make Percy furious. Or you will feel his wrath." Clarisse said seriously while remembering about that Annabeth got stabbed and Percy went deadly-don't-mess-with-me mode during the Titan War.

 **"So I have to find the stupid bolt," I said.**

"My master bolt isn't stupid!" Zeus protected.

 **"And return it to Zeus."**

 **"What better peace offering," Chiron said, "than to have the son of Poseidon return Zeus's property?"**

 **"If Poseidon doesn't have it, where is the thing?"**

 **"I believe I know." Chiron's expression was grim. "Part of a prophecy I had years ago ... well, some of the lines make sense to me, now. But before I can say more, you must officially take up the quest. You must seek the counsel of the Oracle."**

 **"Why can't you tell me where the bolt is beforehand?"**

 **"Because if I did, you would be too afraid to accept the challenge."**

Leo gulped.

"Good reason."

 **I swallowed. "Good reason."**

 **"You agree then?"**

 **I looked at Grover, who nodded encouragingly.**

 **Easy for him. I was the one Zeus wanted to kill.**

Everyone expect Poseidon chuckled.

"Then, I won't let him." Poseidon frowned.

"True."

 **"All right," I said. "It's better than being turned into a dolphin."**

Poseidon glared at Dionysus the grapefruit.

 **"Then it's time you consulted the Oracle," Chiron said. "Go upstairs, Percy Jackson, to the attic. When you come back down, assuming you're still sane, we will talk more."**

 **Four flights up, the stairs ended under a green trapdoor.**

 **I pulled the cord. The door swung down, and a wooden ladder clattered into place.**

 **The warm air from above smelled like mildew and rotten wood and something else... a smell I remembered from biology class. Reptiles. The smell of snakes.**

 **I held my breath and climbed.**

 **The attic was filled with Greek hero junk: armor stands covered in cobwebs; once-bright shields pitted with rust; old leather steamer trunks plastered with stickers saying ITHAKA, CIRCE'S ISLE, and LAND OF THE AMAZONS. One long table was stacked with glass jars filled with pickled things—severed hairy claws, huge yellow eyes, various other parts of monsters. A dusty mounted trophy on the wall looked like a giant snake's head, but with horns and a full set of shark's teeth. The plaque read, HYDRA HEAD #1, WOODSTOCK, N.Y., 1969.**

 **By the window, sitting on a wooden tripod stool, was the most gruesome memento of all: a mummy. Not the wrapped-in-cloth kind, but a human female body shriveled to a husk. She wore a tie-dyed sundress, lots of beaded necklaces, and a headband over long black hair. The skin of her face was thin and leathery over her skull, and her eyes were glassy white slits, as if the real eyes had been replaced by marbles; she'd been dead a long, long time.**

Apollo the raining cloud glared Hades.

 **Looking at her sent chills up my back. And that was before she sat up on her stool and opened her mouth. A green mist poured from the mummy's mouth, coiling over the floor in thick tendrils, hissing like twenty thousand snakes. I stumbled over myself trying to get to the trapdoor, but it slammed shut. Inside my head, I heard a voice, slithering into one ear and coiling around my brain: I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.**

 **I wanted to say, No thanks, wrong door, just looking for the bathroom.**

Everyone chuckled.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and smiled. _Typical Seaweed Brain._

 **But I forced myself to take a deep breath.**

 **The mummy wasn't alive. She was some kind of gruesome receptacle for something else, the power that was now swirling around me in the green mist. But its presence didn't feel evil, like my demonic math teacher Mrs. Dodds or the Minotaur. It felt more like the Three Fates I'd seen knitting the yarn outside the highway fruit stand: ancient, powerful, and definitely not human. But not particularly interested in killing me, either.**

 **I got up the courage to ask, "What is my destiny?"**

 **The mist swirled more thickly, collecting right in front of me and around the table with the pickled monster-part jars. Suddenly there were four men sitting around the table, playing cards. Their faces became clearer. It was Smelly Gabe and his buddies.**

Everyone gritted their teeth.

 **My fists clenched, though I knew this poker party couldn't be real. It was an illusion, made out of mist.**

 **Gabe turned toward me and spoke in the rasping voice of the Oracle: You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.**

Olympians stared at Hades.

 **His buddy on the right looked up and said in the same voice: You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.**

"Yes!" Zeus screamed and fist-pumped.

Everyone stared at Zeus with a weird look.

"What?"

 **The guy on the left threw in two poker chips, then said: You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.**

For the those that knew Luke gasped and look down. _Luke._

 **Finally, Eddie, our building super, delivered the worst line of all: And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.**

"WHAT?!" Zeus cried.

 **The figures began to dissolve. At first I was too stunned to say anything, but as the mist retreated, coiling into a huge green serpent and slithering back into the mouth of the mummy, I cried, "Wait! What do you mean? What friend? What will I fail to save?"**

"Sorry, buddy. Cannot give any answer." Apollo thought sadly.

 **The tail of the mist snake disappeared into the mummy's mouth. She reclined back against the wall. Her mouth closed tight, as if it hadn't been open in a hundred years. The attic was silent again, abandoned, nothing but a room full of mementos.**

 **I got the feeling that I could stand here until I had cobwebs, too, and I wouldn't learn anything else.**

Athena and her children shivered.

 **My audience with the Oracle was over.**

 **"Well?" Chiron asked me.**

 **I slumped into a chair at the pinochle table. "She said I would retrieve what was stolen."**

 **Grover sat forward, chewing excitedly on the remains of a Diet Coke can. "That's great!"**

 **"What did the Oracle say exactly?" Chiron pressed. "This is important."**

 **My ears were still tingling from the reptilian voice. "She...** **she said I would go west and face a god who had turned. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."**

 **"I knew it," Grover said.**

 **Chiron didn't look satisfied. "Anything else?"**

"Just like Annabeth." Leo said.

"Annabeth—Hey WHAT ARE DOING?! GAH! Mother- !# !?%!"

 **I didn't want to tell him.**

 **What friend would betray me? I didn't have that many.**

For they those who knew Luke look down.

 **And the last line—I would fail to save what mattered most. What kind of Oracle would send me on a quest and tell me, Oh, by the way, you'll fail.**

Everyone chuckled at Percy's sense of humor.

 **How could I confess that?**

 **"No," I said. "That's about it."**

 **He studied my face. "Very well, Percy. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."**

 **I got the feeling he knew I was holding back something bad, and he was trying to make me feel better.**

 **"Okay," I said, anxious to change topics. "So where do I go? Who's this god in the west?"**

 **"Ah, think, Percy," Chiron said. "If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"**

"Ooh no." Hades Groaned.

 **"Somebody else who wants to take over?" I guessed.**

 **"Yes, quite. Someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions. Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken."**

 **I thought about my dreams, the evil voice that had spoken from under the ground. "Hades."**

"Fuck." Hades cursed for his luck.

 **Chiron nodded. "The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility."**

 **A scrap of aluminum dribbled out of Grover's mouth. "Whoa, wait. Wh-what?"**

 **"A Fury came after Percy," Chiron reminded him. "She watched the young man until she was sure of his identity, then tried to kill him. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."**

 **"Yes, but—but Hades hates all heroes," Grover protested. "Especially if he has found out Percy is a son of Poseidon... ."**

 **"A hellhound got into the forest," Chiron continued. "Those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon will try to use Percy to clear his name. Hades would very much like to kill this young half-blood before he can take on the quest."**

 **"Great," I muttered. "That's two major gods who want to kill me."**

"Nope. There is seven Gods and Titan who vowed their revenge for you." Annabeth chuckled while ignore's Olympians pale face.

 **"But a quest to ..." Grover swallowed. "I mean, couldn't the master bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year."**

"Really Grover? It really not the time." Thalia said.

 **"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt," Chiron insisted. "He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I don't pretend to understand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Percy must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth."**

 **A strange fire burned in my stomach. The weirdest thing was: it wasn't fear. It was anticipation. The desire for revenge. Hades had tried to kill me three times so far, with the Fury, the Minotaur, and the hellhound. It was his fault my mother had disappeared in a flash of light. Now he was trying to frame me and my dad for a theft we hadn't committed.**

"So fucking true." Poseidon muttered.

 **I was ready to take him on.**

 **Besides, if my mother was in the Underworld ...**

 **Whoa, boy, said the small part of my brain that was still sane. You're a kid. Hades is a god.**

"So damn true." Hades said.

"Not really. Seaweed Brain fight many major Gods and Titans." Annabeth said in a bored tone.

"WHAT?!"

"Oops." Annabeth smiled and knowing she wasn't sorry.

 **Grover was trembling. He'd started eating pinochle cards like potato chips.**

 **The poor guy needed to complete a quest with me so he could get his searcher's license, whatever that was, but how could I ask him to do this quest, especially when the Oracle said I was destined to fail? This was suicide.**

Everyone chuckled.

 **"Look, if we know it's Hades," I told Chiron, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some heads."**

Everyone laughed louder.

 **"Suspecting and knowing are not the same," Chiron said. "Besides, even if the other gods suspect Hades—and I imagine Poseidon does—they couldn't retrieve the bolt themselves. Gods cannot cross each other's territories except by invitation. That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as they're bold enough and strong enough to do it. No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"**

 **"You're saying I'm being used."**

"Yup." Travis said quietly.

 **"I'm saying it's no accident Poseidon has claimed you now. It's a very risky gamble, but he's in a desperate situation. He needs you."**

 **My dad needs me.**

 **Emotions rolled around inside me like bits of glass in a kaleidoscope. I didn't know whether to feel resentful or grateful or happy or angry. Poseidon had ignored me for twelve years. Now suddenly he needed me.**

Poseidon look down.

 **I looked at Chiron. "You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?"**

 **"I had my suspicions. As I said ... I've spoken to the Oracle, too."**

 **I got the feeling there was a lot he wasn't telling me about his prophecy, but I decided I couldn't worry about that right now. After all, I was holding back information too.**

"True."

 **"So let me get this straight," I said. "I'm supposed go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."**

 **"Check," Chiron said.**

 **"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."**

 **"Check."**

 **"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."**

 **"That's about right."**

 **I looked at Grover, who gulped down the ace of hearts.**

 **"Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" he asked weakly.**

"Not the time Grover." Thalia said.

 **"You don't have to go," I told him. "I can't ask that of you.**

 **"Oh ..." He shifted his hooves. "No ... it's just that satyrs and underground places ... well..."**

 **He took a deep breath, then stood, brushing the shredded cards and aluminum bits off his T-shirt. "You saved my life, Percy. If ... if you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down."**

 **I felt so relieved I wanted to cry, though I didn't think that would be very heroic.**

"Nope."

 **Grover was the only friend I'd ever had for longer than a few months. I wasn't sure what good a satyr could do against the forces of the dead, but I felt better knowing he'd be with me.**

 **"All the way, G-man." I turned to Chiron. "So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west."**

 **"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America."**

 **"Where?"**

 **Chiron looked surprised. "I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."**

 **"Oh," I said. "Naturally. So we just get on a plane—"**

"Fuck no!" Poseidon screamed.

Zeus put a devilish smile.

 **"No!" Grover shrieked. "Percy, what are you thinking? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?"**

 **I shook my head, feeling embarrassed. My mom had never taken me anywhere by plane. She'd always said we didn't have the money. Besides, her parents had died in a plane crash.**

 **"Percy, think," Chiron said. "You are the son of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive."**

 **Overhead, lightning crackled. Thunder boomed.**

 **"Okay," I said, determined not to look at the storm. "So, I'll travel overland."**

 **"That's right," Chiron said. "Two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help."**

 **"Gee," I said, feigning surprise. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"**

 **The air shimmered behind Chiron.**

"Oh no." Athena whispered.

 **Annabeth became visible, stuffing her Yankees cap into her back pocket.**

Athena cursed for her luck.

 **"I've been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain," she said. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."**

"It so true. She honestly saved Percy's butt numerous time, even during the Titan War and the Giant War." Nico said.

Ananbeth slapped Nico's head softly.

 **"If you do say so yourself," I said. "I suppose you have a plan, wise girl?"**

 **Her cheeks colored. "Do you want my help or not?"**

 **The truth was, I did. I needed all the help I could get.**

 **"A trio," I said. "That'll work."**

 **"Excellent," Chiron said. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."**

 **Lightning flashed. Rain poured down on the meadows that were never supposed to have violent weather.**

 **"No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing."**

"Finished." Hades said.

"Who want to read next?" Hera asked.

"Me." Hermes said.

Hades handed over the book to the God of Thief.

" **I Ruin a Perfectly Good Bus**." Hermes read out loud.


	11. I Ruin a Perfectly Good Bus

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

* * *

Poseidon frowned.

 **It didn't take me long to pack. I decided to leave the Minotaur horn in my cabin, which left me only an extra change of clothes and a toothbrush to stuff in a backpack Grover had found for me.**

 **The camp store loaned me one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas. These coins were as big as Girl Scout cookies and had images of various Greek gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, Chiron told us, but Olympians never used less than pure gold. Chiron said the coins might come in handy for non-mortal transactions—whatever that meant. He gave Annabeth and me each a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt. It was god food, Chiron reminded us. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn us up, literally.**

 **Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, which she told me had been a twelfth-birthday present from her mom.**

Athena beamed proudly while Annabeth smiled sadly remembering that cap disappeared without a trace. She believed that cap was going to a rightful owner of the cap. But that was ten years ago.

 **She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, to read when she got bored, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve. I was sure the knife would get us busted the first time we went through a metal detector.**

Annaneth rolled her eyes. _Stupid Seaweed Brain._

 **Grover wore his fake feet and his pants to pass as human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday," both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes.**

"No kidding." Thalia coughed.

 **We waved good-bye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus.**

"Yay..I'm mentioned." Thalia said sarcastically.

 **Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stood the surfer dude I'd seen when I was recovering in the sick room. According to Grover, the guy was the camp's head of security. He supposedly had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. Today, though, he was wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so I could only see extra peepers on his hands, face and neck.**

 **"This is Argus," Chiron told me.**

Hera smiled kindly while everyone grimaced.

 **"He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."**

 **I heard footsteps behind us.**

 **Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes.**

Ananbeth gasped and grimaced. Remembering about Grover flying to his death to Tartarus.

 **"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."**

 **Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around.**

Everyone laughed and Annabeth blushed furiously.

 **"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told me. "And I thought ... um, maybe you could use these."**

 **He handed me the sneakers, which looked pretty normal. They even smelled kind of normal.**

 **Luke said, "Maia!"**

 **White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling me so much, I dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared.**

 **"Awesome!" Grover said.**

 **Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..." His expression turned sad.**

 **I didn't know what to say. It was cool enough that Luke had come to say good-bye. I'd been afraid he might resent me for getting so much attention the last few days. But here he was giving me a magic gift... It made me blush almost as much as Annabeth.**

Everyone chuckled.

 **"Hey, man," I said. "Thanks."**

 **"Listen, Percy ..." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just ... kill some monsters for me, okay?"**

 **We shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, then gave a good-bye hug to Annabeth, who looked like she might pass out.**

 **After Luke was gone, I told her, "You're hyperventilating."**

 **"Am not."**

 **"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"**

 **"Oh ... why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?"**

 **She stomped down the other side of the hill, where a white SUV waited on the shoulder of the road. Argus followed, jingling his car keys.**

 **I picked up the flying shoes and had a sudden bad feeling. I looked at Chiron. "I won't be able to use these, will I?"**

 **He shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air ... that would not be wise for you."**

"Not very wise." Poseidon said.

 **I nodded, disappointed, but then I got an idea. "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"**

 **His eyes lit up. "Me?"**

 **Pretty soon we'd laced the sneakers over his fake feet, and the world's first flying goat boy was ready for launch.**

Everyone chuckled hysterically.

It took them about ten minutes to calm down.

 **"Maia!" he shouted.**

 **He got off the ground okay, but then fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass. The winged shoes kept bucking up and down like tiny broncos.**

 **"Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!"**

 **"Aaaaa!" Grover went flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawn mower, heading toward the van.**

 **Before I could follow, Chiron caught my arm. "I should have trained you better, Percy," he said. "If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason—they all got more training."**

 **"That's okay. I just wish—"**

 **I stopped myself because I was about to sound like a brat. I was wishing my dad had given me a cool magic item to help on the quest, something as good as Luke's flying shoes, or Annabeth's invisible cap.**

 **"What am I thinking?" Chiron cried. "I can't let you get away without this."**

Demigods sighed.

 **He pulled a pen from his coat pocket and handed it to me. It was an ordinary disposable ballpoint, black ink, removable cap. Probably cost thirty cents.**

"Typical Percy." Leo chuckled.

 **"Gee," I said. "Thanks."**

 **"Percy, that's a gift from your father. I've kept it for years, not knowing you were who I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one."**

 **I remembered the field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, when I'd vaporized Mrs. Dodds. Chiron had thrown me a pen that turned into a sword. Could this be ... ?**

 **I took off the cap, and the pen grew longer and heavier in my hand. In half a second, I held a shimmering bronze sword with a double-edged blade, a leather-wrapped grip, and a flat hilt riveted with gold studs. It was the first weapon that actually felt balanced in my hand.**

 **"The sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into," Chiron told me. "Its name is Anaklusmos."**

"Riptide." Poseidon smiled dreamily.

 **"'Riptide,'" I translated, surprised the Ancient Greek came so easily.**

"Like a father, like a son." Hermes grinned.

 **"Use it only for emergencies," Chiron said, "and only against monsters. No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, but this sword wouldn't harm them in any case."**

 **I looked at the wickedly sharp blade. "What do you mean it wouldn't harm mortals? How could it not?"**

 **"The sword is celestial bronze. Forged by the Cyclopes, tempered in the heart of Mount Etna, cooled in the River Lethe. It's deadly to monsters, to any creature from the Underworld, provided they don't kill you first. But the blade will pass through mortals like an illusion. They simply are not important enough for the blade to kill. And I should warn you: as a demigod, you can be killed by either celestial or normal weapons. You are twice as vulnerable."**

 **"Good to know."**

 **"Now recap the pen."**

 **I touched the pen cap to the sword tip and instantly Riptide shrank to a ballpoint pen again. I tucked it in my pocket, a little nervous, because I was famous for losing pens at school.**

"Really? So am I." Leo chuckled.

 **"You can't," Chiron said.**

 **"Can't what?"**

 **"Lose the pen," he said. "It is enchanted. It will always reappear in your pocket. Try it."**

 **I was wary, but I threw the pen as far as I could down the hill and watched it disappear in the grass.**

 **"It may take a few moments," Chiron told me. "Now check your pocket."**

 **Sure enough, the pen was there.**

"Cool!" Leo squealed.

 **"Okay, that's extremely cool," I admitted. "But what if a mortal sees me pulling out a sword?"**

 **Chiron smiled. "Mist is a powerful thing, Percy."**

 **"Mist?"**

"For God's sake just teach that boy!" Athena groaned.

 **"Yes. Read The Iliad. It's full of references to the stuff. Whenever divine or monstrous elements mix with the mortal world, they generate Mist, which obscures the vision of humans. You will see things just as they are, being a half-blood, but humans will interpret things quite differently. Remarkable, really, the lengths to which humans will go to fit things into their version of reality."**

 **I put Riptide back in my pocket.**

 **For the first time, the quest felt real. I was actually leaving Half-Blood Hill. I was heading west with no adult supervision, no backup plan, not even a cell phone. (Chiron said cell phones were traceable by monsters; if we used one, it would be worse than sending up a flare.) I had no weapon stronger than a sword to fight off monsters and reach the Land of the Dead.**

 **"Chiron ..." I said. "When you say the gods are immortal... I mean, there was a time before them, right?"**

 **"Four ages before them, actually. The Time of the Titans was the Fourth Age, sometimes called the Golden Age, which is definitely a misnomer. This, the time of Western civilization and the rule of Zeus, is the Fifth Age."**

 **"So what was it like ... before the gods?"**

The eldest son and daughter of Kronos grimaced.

 **Chiron pursed his lips. "Even I am not old enough to remember that, child, but I know it was a time of darkness and savagery for mortals. Kronos, the lord of the Titans, called his reign the Golden Age because men lived innocent and free of all knowledge. But that was mere propaganda. The Titan king cared nothing for your kind except as appetizers or a source of cheap entertainment. It was only in the early reign of Lord Zeus, when Prometheus the good Titan brought fire to mankind, that your species began to progress, and even then Prometheus was branded a radical thinker. Zeus punished him severely, as you may recall. Of course, eventually the gods warmed to humans, and Western civilization was born."**

 **"But the gods can't die now, right? I mean, as long as Western civilization is alive, they're alive. So ... even if I failed, nothing could happen so bad it would mess up everything, right?"**

 **Chiron gave me a melancholy smile. "No one knows how long the Age of the West will last, Percy. The gods are immortal, yes. But then, so were the Titans. They still exist, locked away in their various prisons, forced to endure endless pain and punishment, reduced in power, but still very much alive. May the Fates forbid that the gods should ever suffer such a doom, or that we should ever return to the darkness and chaos of the past. All we can do, child, is follow our destiny."**

 **"Our destiny ... assuming we know what that is."**

 **"Relax," Chiron told me. "Keep a clear head. And remember, you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history."**

"Seriously Chiron?" Thalia deadpanned.

 **"Relax," I said. "I'm very relaxed."**

 **When I got to the bottom of the hill, I looked back. Under the pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus, Chiron was now standing in full horse-man form, holding his bow high in salute. Just your typical summer-camp send-off by your typical centaur.**

 **Argus drove us out of the countryside and into western Long Island. It felt weird to be on a highway again, Annabeth and Grover sitting next to me as if we were normal carpoolers. After two weeks at Half-Blood Hill, the real world seemed like a fantasy. I found myself staring at every McDonald's, every kid in the back of his parents' car, every billboard and shopping mall.**

 **"So far so good," I told Annabeth. "Ten miles and not a single monster."**

"Fuck." Athena groaned.

 **She gave me an irritated look. "It's bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain."**

 **"Remind me again—why do you hate me so much?"**

 **"I don't hate you."**

 **"Could've fooled me."**

Everyone chuckled.

 **She folded her cap of invisibility. "Look ... we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."**

 **"Why?"**

 **She sighed. "How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is hugely disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift.**

"Hey! It wasn't stupid!" Poseidon protected.

 **My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."**

 **"They must really like olives."**

 **"Oh, forget it."**

 **"Now, if she'd invented pizza—that I could understand."**

Everyone expect Athena whom look offended laughed hysterically.

It took them twenty five minutes to calm down.

 **"I said, forget it!"**

 **In the front seat, Argus smiled. He didn't say anything, but one blue eye on the back of his neck winked at me.**

"He knows." Hera gasped.

 **Traffic slowed us down in Queens. By the time we got into Manhattan it was sunset and starting to rain.**

 **Argus dropped us at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side, not far from my mom and Gabe's apartment. Taped to a mailbox was a soggy flyer with my picture on it: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?**

 **I ripped it down before Annabeth and Grover could notice.**

 **Argus unloaded our bags, made sure we got our bus tickets, then drove away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch us as he pulled out of the parking lot.**

 **I thought about how close I was to my old apartment. On a normal day, my mom would be home from the candy store by now. Smelly Gabe was probably up there right now, playing poker, not even missing her.**

"Fuck him!" Hestia roared with anger.

Everyone gasped at Hestia's second foul language.

 **Grover shouldered his backpack. He gazed down the street in the direction I was looking. "You want to know why she married him, Percy?"**

 **I stared at him. "Were you reading my mind or something?"**

 **"Just your emotions." He shrugged. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that. You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"**

 **I nodded, wondering what else Grover might've forgotten to tell me.**

 **"Your mom married Gabe for you," Grover told me. "You call him 'Smelly,' but you've got no idea. The guy has this aura…. Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week."**

Aphrodite and Aphrodite cabin wrinkled their nose in a disgust.

 **"Thanks," I said. "Where's the nearest shower?"**

 **"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy—if that makes you feel any better."**

 **It didn't, but I forced myself not to show it. I'll see her again, I thought. She isn't gone.**

At this point Poseidon glared at Hades who is chuckled nervously.

 **I wondered if Grover could still read my emotions, mixed up as they were. I was glad he and Annabeth were with me, but I felt guilty that I hadn't been straight with them. I hadn't told them the real reason I'd said yes to this crazy quest.**

 **The truth was, I didn't care about retrieving Zeus's lightning bolt—**

"What?!" Zeus cried.

 **—or saving the world, or even helping my father out of trouble. The more I thought about it, I resented Poseidon for never visiting me, never helping my mom, never even sending a lousy child-support check. He'd only claimed me because he needed a job done.**

Poseidon look down in a ashamedly.

 **All I cared about was my mom. Hades had taken her unfairly, and Hades was going to give her back.**

Poseidon groaned and Hades grinned.

 **You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend, the Oracle whispered in my mind. You will fail to save what matters most in the end.**

 **Shut up, I told it.**

Apollo frowned.

 **The rain kept coming down.**

 **We got restless waiting for the bus and decided to play some Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples. Annabeth was unbelievable. She could bounce the apple off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, whatever. I wasn't too bad myself.**

 **The game ended when I tossed the apple toward Grover and it got too close to his mouth. In one mega goat bite, our Hacky Sack disappeared—core, stem, and all.**

 **Grover blushed. He tried to apologize, but Annabeth and I were too busy cracking up.**

 **Finally the bus came. As we stood in line to board, Grover started looking around, sniffing the air like he smelled his favorite school cafeteria delicacy—enchiladas.**

 **"What is it?" I asked.**

 **"I don't know," he said tensely. "Maybe it's nothing."**

 **But I could tell it wasn't nothing. I started looking over my shoulder, too.**

 **I was relieved when we finally got on board and found seats together in the back of the bus. We stowed our backpacks. Annabeth kept slapping her Yankees cap nervously against her thigh.**

 **As the last passengers got on, Annabeth clamped her hand onto my knee. "Percy."**

 **An old lady had just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a big paisley purse. When she tilted her head up, her black eyes glittered, and my heart skipped a beat.**

 **It was Mrs. Dodds. Older, more withered, but definitely the same evil face.**

"Fuck." Poseidon cursed.

"Language."

"Don't care."

"*smack* Hey!"

"Warn ya."

Poseidon grumbled.

 **I scrunched down in my seat.**

 **Behind her came two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise they looked exactly like Mrs. Dodds—same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, wrinkled velvet dresses. Triplet demon grandmothers.**

"Nice." Thalia chuckled.

 **They sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle crossed their legs over the walkway, making an X. It was casual enough, but it sent a clear message: nobody leaves.**

 **The bus pulled out of the station, and we headed through the slick streets of Manhattan. "She didn't stay dead long," I said, trying to keep my voice from quivering. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."**

 **"I said if you're lucky," Annabeth said. "You're obviously not."**

Poseidon groaned.

 **"All three of them," Grover whimpered. "Di immortales!"**

 **"It's okay," Annabeth said, obviously thinking hard. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."**

 **"They don't open," Grover moaned.**

 **"A back exit?" she suggested.**

 **There wasn't one. Even if there had been, it wouldn't have helped. By that time, we were on Ninth Avenue, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.**

 **"They won't attack us with witnesses around," I said. "Will they?"**

 **"Mortals don't have good eyes," Annabeth reminded me. "Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."**

 **"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"**

 **She thought about it. "Hard to say. But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit in the roof ... ?"**

 **We hit the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus went dark except for the running lights down the aisle. It was eerily quiet without the sound of the rain.**

 **Mrs. Dodds got up. In a flat voice, as if she'd rehearsed it, she announced to the whole bus: "I need to use the rest-room."**

 **"So do I," said the second sister.**

 **"So do I," said the third sister.**

"Creepy."

 **They all started coming down the aisle.**

 **"I've got it," Annabeth said. "Percy, take my hat."**

 **"What?"**

 **"You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."**

 **"But you guys—"**

 **"There's an outside chance they might not notice us," Annabeth said. "You're a son of one of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."**

 **"I can't just leave you."**

 **"Don't worry about us," Grover said. "Go!"**

 **My hands trembled. I felt like a coward, but I took the Yankees cap and put it on.**

 **When I looked down, my body wasn't there anymore.**

"Cool." Leo said.

 **I started creeping up the aisle. I managed to get up ten rows, then duck into an empty seat just as the Furies walked past.**

 **Mrs. Dodds stopped, sniffing, and looked straight at me. My heart was pounding.**

 **Apparently she didn't see anything. She and her sisters kept going.**

 **I was free. I made it to the front of the bus. We were almost through the Lincoln Tunnel now. I was about to press the emergency stop button when I heard hideous wailing from the back row.**

"Damn Fatal Flaw." Annabeth cursed.

 **The old ladies were not old ladies anymore. Their faces were still the same—I guess those couldn't get any uglier— but their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat's wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws. Their handbags had turned into fiery whips.**

 **The Furies surrounded Grover and Annabeth, lashing their whips, hissing: "Where is it? Where?"**

 **The other people on the bus were screaming, cowering in their seats. They saw something, all right.**

 **"He's not here!" Annabeth yelled. "He's gone!"**

 **The Furies raised their whips.**

 **Annabeth drew her bronze knife. Grover grabbed a tin can from his snack bag and prepared to throw it.**

 **What I did next was so impulsive and dangerous I should've been named ADHD poster child of the year.**

Hermes snap his finger and a poster appeared that said 'Best ADHD child of the year'.

"Aw. I wish he is here."

 **The bus driver was distracted, trying to see what was going on in his rearview mirror.**

 **Still invisible, I grabbed the wheel from him and jerked it to the left. Everybody howled as they were thrown to the right, and I heard what I hoped was the sound of three Furies smashing against the windows.**

 **"Hey!" the driver yelled. "Hey—whoa!"**

 **We wrestled for the wheel. The bus slammed against the side of the tunnel, grinding metal, throwing sparks a mile behind us.**

 **We careened out of the Lincoln Tunnel and back into the rainstorm, people and monsters tossed around the bus, cars plowed aside like bowling pins.**

 **Somehow the driver found an exit. We shot off the highway, through half a dozen traffic lights, and ended up barreling down one of those New Jersey rural roads where you can't believe there's so much nothing right across the river from New York. There were woods to our left, the Hudson River to our right, and the driver seemed to be veering toward the river.**

 **Another great idea—**

Everyone groaned.

 **—I hit the emergency brake.**

 **The bus wailed, spun a full circle on the wet asphalt, and crashed into the trees. The emergency lights came on. The door flew open. The bus driver was the first one out—**

"Fucking coward." Clarisse said.

 **—the passengers yelling as they stampeded after him. I stepped into the driver's seat and let them pass.**

 **The Furies regained their balance. They lashed their whips at Annabeth while she waved her knife and yelled in Ancient Greek, telling them to back off. Grover threw tin cans.**

 **I looked at the open doorway. I was free to go, but I couldn't leave my friends.**

"STUPID FATAL FLAW!" Annabeth screamed.

 **I took off the invisible cap. "Hey!"**

 **The Furies turned, baring their yellow fangs at me, and the exit suddenly seemed like an excellent idea. Mrs. Dodds stalked up the aisle, just as she used to do in class, about to deliver my F- math test.**

Everyone chuckled.

 **Every time she flicked her whip, red flames danced along the barbed leather.**

 **Her two ugly sisters hopped on top of the seats on either side of her and crawled toward me like huge nasty lizards.**

 **"Perseus Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said, in an accent that was definitely from somewhere farther south than Georgia. "You have offended the gods. You shall die."**

 **"I liked you better as a math teacher," I told her.**

"Me to."

 **She growled.**

 **Annabeth and Grover moved up behind the Furies cautiously, looking for an opening.**

 **I took the ballpoint pen out of my pocket and uncapped it. Riptide elongated into a shimmering double-edged sword.**

 **The Furies hesitated.**

 **Mrs. Dodds had felt Riptide's blade before. She obviously didn't like seeing it again.**

"So true." Nico muttered.

 **"Submit now," she hissed. "And you will not suffer eternal torment."**

 **"Nice try," I told her.**

 **"Percy, look out!" Annabeth cried.**

 **Mrs. Dodds lashed her whip around my sword hand while the Furies on the either side lunged at me.**

 **My hand felt like it was wrapped in molten lead, but I managed not to drop Riptide. I stuck the Fury on the left with its hilt, sending her toppling backward into a seat. I turned and sliced the Fury on the right. As soon as the blade connected with her neck, she screamed and exploded into dust. Annabeth got Mrs. Dodds in a wrestler's hold and yanked her backward while Grover ripped the whip out of her hands.**

 **"Ow!" he yelled. "Ow! Hot! Hot!"**

 **The Fury I'd hilt-slammed came at me again, talons ready, but I swung Riptide and she broke open like a piñata.**

 **Mrs. Dodds was trying to get Annabeth off her back. She kicked, clawed, hissed and bit, but Annabeth held on while Grover got Mrs. Dodds's legs tied up in her own whip. Finally they both shoved her backward into the aisle. Mrs. Dodds tried to get up, but she didn't have room to flap her bat wings, so she kept falling down.**

 **"Zeus will destroy you!" she promised. "Hades will have your soul!"**

 **"Braccas meas vescimini!" I yelled.**

Jason and other Romans chuckled.

"I really miss his sense of humor!" Jason laughed.

 **I wasn't sure where the Latin came from. I think it meant "Eat my pants!"**

Now everyone joined Roman's laughter.

it took them an half hour to calm down.

 **Thunder shook the bus. The hair rose on the back of my neck.**

 **"Get out!" Annabeth yelled at me. "Now!" I didn't need any encouragement.**

 **We rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering around in a daze, arguing with the driver, or running around in circles yelling, "We're going to die!" A Hawaiian-shirted tourist with a camera snapped my photograph before I could recap my sword.**

 **"Our bags!" Grover realized. "We left our—"**

 **BOOOOM!**

"Fuck."

"*Smack* OW!" Poseidon whined.

"Warn ya."

 **The windows of the bus exploded as the passengers ran for cover. Lightning shredded a huge crater in the roof, but an angry wail from inside told me Mrs. Dodds was not yet dead.**

 **"Run!" Annabeth said. "She's calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!"**

 **We plunged into the woods as the rain poured down, the bus in flames behind us, and nothing but darkness ahead.**

"Finished." Hermes said.

"Who want to read next?" Hades asked.

"Me." Nico said.

Hermes handed over the book to Nico.

" **We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium**." Nico read out loud.


	12. We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

* * *

The color drained from Annabeth's face. _Oh no, not this one._

 **In a way, it's nice to know there are Greek gods out there, because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong.**

At this point Poseidon glared at the teenager Zeus.

 **For instance, when you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it's raining on top of everything else, most people might think that's just really bad luck; when you're a half-blood, you understand that some divine force really is trying to mess up your day.**

 **So there we were, Annabeth and Grover and I, walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind us, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in our noses.**

 **Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."**

At this point Poseidon glared at Hades.

 **I was pretty much in shock myself. The explosion of bus windows still rang in my ears. But Annabeth kept pulling us along, saying: "Come on! The farther away we get, the better."**

 **"All our money was back there," I reminded her. "Our food and clothes. Everything."**

 **"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight—"**

 **"What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?"**

 **"You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine."**

 **"Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine."**

Everyone chuckled.

 **"Shut up, goat boy," said Annabeth.**

 **Grover brayed mournfully. "Tin cans... a perfectly good bag of tin cans."**

 **We sloshed across mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry.**

 **After a few minutes, Annabeth fell into line next to me. "Look, I..." Her voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."**

 **"We're a team, right?"**

 **She was silent for a few more steps. "It's just that if you died ... aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world."**

 **The thunderstorm had finally let up. The city glow faded behind us, leaving us in almost total darkness. I couldn't see anything of Annabeth except a glint of her blond hair.**

 **"You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" I asked her.**

 **"No ... only short field trips. My dad—"**

 **"The history professor."**

 **"Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood is my home." She was rushing her words out now, as if she were afraid somebody might try to stop her. "At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not."**

 **If I didn't know better, I could've sworn I heard doubt in her voice.**

 **"You're pretty good with that knife," I said.**

 **"You think so?"**

"Awww.." Aphrodite squealed.

 **"Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me."**

 **I couldn't really see, but I thought she might've smiled.**

"I did." Annabeth said seriously.

 **"You know," she said, "maybe I should tell you... Something funny back on the bus ..."**

 **Whatever she wanted to say was interrupted by a shrill toot-toot-toot, like the sound of an owl being tortured.**

Athena look offended.

 **"Hey, my reed pipes still work!" Grover cried. "If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!"**

"Oh no."

 **He puffed out a few notes, but the tune still sounded suspiciously like Hilary Duff.**

Thalia facepalmed.

 **Instead of finding a path, I immediately slammed into a tree and got a nice-size knot on my head.**

 **Add to the list of superpowers I did not have: infrared vision.**

 **After tripping and cursing and generally feeling miserable for another mile or so, I started to see light up ahead: the colors of a neon sign. I could smell food. Fried, greasy, excellent food. I realized I hadn't eaten anything unhealthy since I'd arrived at Half-Blood Hill, where we lived on grapes, bread, cheese, and extra-lean-cut nymph-prepared barbecue. This boy needed a double cheeseburger.**

"Mens." Artemis said.

 **We kept walking until I saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed-down gas station, a tattered billboard for a 1990s movie, and one open business, which was the source of the neon light and the good smell.**

 **It wasn't a fast-food restaurant like I'd hoped. It was one of those weird roadside curio shops that sell lawn flamingos and wooden Indians and cement grizzly bears and stuff like that. The main building was a long, low warehouse, surrounded by acres of statuary. The neon sign above the gate was impossible for me to read, because if there's anything worse for my dyslexia than regular English, it's red cursive neon English.**

 **To me, it looked like: ATNYU MES GDERAN GOMEN MEPROUIM.**

"What?"

 **"What the heck does that say?" I asked.**

 **"I don't know," Annabeth said.**

 **She loved reading so much, I'd forgotten she was dyslexic, too.**

 **Grover translated: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium."**

 **Flanking the entrance, as advertised, were two cement garden gnomes, ugly bearded little runts, smiling and waving, as if they were about to get their picture taken.**

 **I crossed the street, following the smell of the hamburgers.**

 **"Hey ..." Grover warned.**

 **"The lights are on inside," Annabeth said. "Maybe it's open."**

 **"Snack bar," I said wistfully.**

"No. It's a dam snack bar." Thalia snickered.

 **"Snack bar," she agreed.**

 **"Are you two crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird."**

 **We ignored him.**

 **The front lot was a forest of statues: cement animals, cement children, even a cement satyr playing the pipes, which gave Grover the creeps.**

 **"Bla-ha-ha!" he bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!"**

 **We stopped at the warehouse door.**

 **"Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters."**

 **"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," Annabeth told him.**

Athena gasped.

"Your under a spell."

Annabeth nodded slowly with a grimace on her face.

 **"All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"**

 **"Meat!" he said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian."**

 **"You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," I reminded him..**

 **"Those are vegetables. Come on. Let's leave. These statues are ... looking at me."**

 **Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of us was a tall Middle Eastern woman—at least, I assumed she was Middle Eastern, because she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was about all I could make out. Her coffee-colored hands looked old, but well-manicured and elegant, so I imagined she was a grandmother who had once been a beautiful lady.**

 **Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too. She said, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"**

 **"They're ... um ..." Annabeth started to say.**

 **"We're orphans," I said.**

 **"Orphans?" the woman said. The word sounded alien in her mouth. "But, my dears! Surely not!"**

 **"We got separated from our caravan," I said. "Our circus caravan. The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost, but he may have forgotten, or maybe he meant a different gas station. Anyway, we're lost. Is that food I smell?"**

"That. Was the worst lying that I ever heard." Travis stated.

Connor nodded.

"No kidding."

 **"Oh, my dears," the woman said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area."**

 **We thanked her and went inside.**

 **Annabeth muttered to me, "Circus caravan?"**

 **"Always have a strategy, right?"**

 **"Your head is full of kelp."**

"True." Thalia said thoughtfully.

 **The warehouse was filled with more statues—people in all different poses, wearing all different outfits and with different expressions on their faces. I was thinking you'd have to have a pretty huge garden to fit even one of these statues, because they were all life-size. But mostly, I was thinking about food.**

"Mens." Artemis muttered.

 **Go ahead, call me an idiot for walking into a strange lady's shop like that just because I was hungry, but I do impulsive stuff sometimes. Plus, you've never smelled Aunty Em's burgers. The aroma was like laughing gas in the dentist's chair—it made everything else go away. I barely noticed Grover's nervous whimpers, or the way the statues' eyes seemed to follow me, or the fact that Aunty Em had locked the door behind us.**

 **All I cared about was finding the dining area. And sure enough, there it was at the back of the warehouse, a fast-food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. Everything you could want, plus a few steel picnic tables out front.**

 **"Please, sit down," Aunty Em said.**

 **"Awesome," I said.**

 **"Um," Grover said reluctantly, "we don't have any money, ma'am."**

 **Before I could jab him in the ribs, Aunty Em said, "No, no, children. No money.**

"Clue number one." Nico said.

 **This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans."**

 **"Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth said.**

 **Aunty Em stiffened, as if Annabeth had done something wrong, but then the old woman relaxed just as quickly, so I figured it must've been my imagination.**

 **"Quite all right, Annabeth," she said. "You have such beautiful gray eyes, child." Only later did I wonder how she knew Annabeth's name, even though we had never introduced ourselves.**

"Clue number two." Nico said.

 **Our hostess disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. Before we knew it, she'd brought us plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes, and XXL servings of French fries.**

 **I was halfway through my burger before I remembered to breathe.**

 **Annabeth slurped her shake.**

 **Grover picked at the fries, and eyed the tray's waxed paper liner as if he might go for that, but he still looked too nervous to eat.**

 **"What's that hissing noise?" he asked.**

 **I listened, but didn't hear anything. Annabeth shook her head.**

 **"Hissing?" Aunty Em asked. "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover."**

 **"I take vitamins. For my ears."**

"Smooth lie." Hermes said.

 **"That's admirable," she said. "But please, relax."**

 **Aunty Em ate nothing** **.**

"Clue number—"

"SHUT UP NICO!" Thalia snapped.

"Fine."

 **She hadn't taken off her headdress, even to cook, and now she sat forward and interlaced her fingers and watched us eat. It was a little unsettling, having someone stare at me when I couldn't see her face, but I was feeling satisfied after the burger, and a little sleepy, and I figured the least I could do was try to make small talk with our hostess.**

 **"So, you sell gnomes," I said, trying to sound interested.**

 **"Oh, yes," Aunty Em said. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."**

 **"A lot of business on this road?"**

 **"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built... most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get."**

 **My neck tingled, as if somebody else was looking at me. I turned, but it was just a statue of a young girl holding an Easter basket. The detail was incredible, much better than you see in most garden statues. But something was wrong with her face. It looked as if she were startled, or even terrified.**

Athena paled. _It cannot be..!_

 **"Ah," Aunty Em said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face."**

 **"You make these statues yourself?" I asked.**

 **"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company." The sadness in her voice sounded so deep and so real that I couldn't help feeling sorry for her.**

Athena growled. _Oh you better not!_

 **Annabeth had stopped eating. She sat forward and said, "Two sisters?"**

Athena sighed with a relief. _Thanks the Gods._

 **"It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said. "Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young.**

Athena growled. _Oh I was not!_

 **I had a... a boyfriend—**

Athena rolled her eyes. _Yeah yeah right._

 **—** **you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart.** **She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price."**

 **I wasn't sure what she meant, but I felt bad for her. My eyelids kept getting heavier, my full stomach making me sleepy. Poor old lady. Who would want to hurt somebody so nice?**

Athena snarled. _SHE EARN IT!_

 **"Percy?" Annabeth was shaking me to get my attention. "Maybe we should go. I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting."**

Athena look satisfied. _Good._

 **She sounded tense. I wasn't sure why. Grover was eating the waxed paper off the tray now, but if Aunty Em found that strange, she didn't say anything.**

 **"Such beautiful gray eyes," Aunty Em told Annabeth again. "My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eyes like those."**

 **She reached out as if to stroke Annabeth's cheek, but Annabeth stood up abruptly.**

 **"We really should go."**

Athena look worried. _Oh please do._

 **"Yes!" Grover swallowed his waxed paper and stood up. "The ringmaster is waiting! Right!"**

 **I didn't want to leave. I felt full and content. Aunty Em was so nice. I wanted to stay with her a while.**

Athena growled. _Screw you boy!_

 **"Please, dears," Aunty Em pleaded. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?"**

Athena paled. _Oh no._

 **"A pose?" Annabeth asked warily.**

 **"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."**

 **Annabeth shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy—"**

 **"Sure we can," I said. I was irritated with Annabeth for being so bossy, so rude to an old lady who'd just fed us for free. "It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?"**

Athena growled. _Turning into stone, that WHAT!_

 **"Yes, Annabeth," the woman purred. "No harm."**

 **I could tell Annabeth didn't like it, but she allowed Aunty Em to lead us back out the front door, into the garden of statues.**

 **Aunty Em directed us to a park bench next to the stone satyr. "Now," she said, "I'll just position you correctly. The young girl in the middle, I think, and the two young gentlemen on either side."**

 **"Not much light for a photo," I remarked.**

 **"Oh, enough," Aunty Em said. "Enough for us to see each other, yes?"**

 **"Where's your camera?" Grover asked.**

 **Aunty Em stepped back, as if to admire the shot. "Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?"**

 **Grover glanced at the cement satyr next to him, and mumbled, "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand."**

 **"Grover," Aunty Em chastised, "look this way, dear."**

 **She still had no camera in her hands.**

Athena look like she is going to fade.

 **"Percy—" Annabeth said.**

 **Some instinct warned me to listen to Annabeth, but I was fighting the sleepy feeling, the comfortable lull that came from the food and the old lady's voice.**

 **"I will just be a moment," Aunty Em said. "You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil..."**

 **"Percy, something's wrong," Annabeth insisted.**

 **"Wrong?" Aunty Em said, reaching up to undo the wrap around her head. "Not at all, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?"**

 **"That is Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped.**

 **"Look away from her!" Annabeth shouted. She whipped her Yankees cap onto her head and vanished. Her invisible hands pushed Grover and me both off the bench.**

 **I was on the ground, looking at Aunt Em's sandaled feet.**

 **I could hear Grover scrambling off in one direction, Annabeth in another. But I was too dazed to move.**

 **Then I heard a strange, rasping sound above me. My eyes rose to Aunty Em's hands, which had turned gnarled and warty, with sharp bronze talons for fingernails.**

 **I almost looked higher, but somewhere off to my left Annabeth screamed, "No! Don't!"**

 **More rasping—the sound of tiny snakes, right above me, from ... from about where Aunty Em's head would be.**

 **"Run!" Grover bleated. I heard him racing across the gravel, yelling, "Maia!" to kick-start his flying sneakers.**

"No, it a kick ass flying sneakers." Clarisse corrected.

 **I couldn't move. I stared at Aunty Em's gnarled claws, and tried to fight the groggy trance the old woman had put me in.**

 **"Such a pity to destroy a handsome young face," she told me soothingly. "Stay with me, Percy. All you have to do is look up."**

 **I fought the urge to obey. Instead I looked to one side and saw one of those glass spheres people put in gardens— a gazing ball. I could see Aunty Em's dark reflection in the orange glass; her headdress was gone, revealing her face as a shimmering pale circle. Her hair was moving, writhing like serpents.**

 **Aunty Em.**

 **Aunty "M."**

Poseidon paled and then groaned. _Fuck, my son is going to die from my evil ex-girlfriend._

 **How could I have been so stupid?**

 **Think, I told myself. How did Medusa die in the myth?**

"By Perseus." Athena said.

 **But I couldn't think. Something told me that in the myth Medusa had been asleep when she was attacked by my namesake, Perseus. She wasn't anywhere near asleep now. If she wanted, she could take those talons right now and rake open my face.**

 **"The Gray-Eyed One did this to me, Percy," Medusa said, and she didn't sound anything like a monster. Her voice invited me to look up, to sympathize with a poor old grandmother. "Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this."**

"YOU EARN IT MOTHER- !# !?% SAKE!" Athena roared.

 **"Don't listen to her!" Annabeth's voice shouted, somewhere in the statuary. "Run, Percy!"**

 **"Silence!" Medusa snarled. Then her voice modulated back to a comforting purr. "You see why I must destroy the girl, Percy. She is my enemy's daughter. I shall crush her statue to dust. But you, dear Percy, you need not suffer."**

 **"No," I muttered. I tried to make my legs move...**

 **"Do you really want to help the gods?" Medusa asked. "Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest, Percy? What will happen if you reach the Underworld? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue. Less pain. Less pain."**

 **"Percy!" Behind me, I heard a buzzing sound, like a two-hundred-pound hummingbird in a nosedive. Grover yelled, "Duck!"**

 **I turned, and there he was in the night sky, flying in from twelve o'clock with his winged shoes fluttering, Grover, holding a tree branch the size of a baseball bat. His eyes were shut tight, his head twitched from side to side. He was navigating by ears and nose alone.**

 **"Duck!" he yelled again. "I'll get her!"**

 **That finally jolted me into action. Knowing Grover, I was sure he'd miss Medusa and nail me. I dove to one side.**

 **Thwack!**

 **At first I figured it was the sound of Grover hitting a tree. Then Medusa roared with rage.**

 **"You miserable satyr," she snarled. "I'll add you to my collection!"**

 **"That was for Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover yelled back.**

Everyone chuckled.

 **I scrambled away and hid in the statuary while Grover swooped down for another pass.**

 **Ker-whack!**

 **"Arrgh!" Medusa yelled, her snake-hair hissing and spitting.**

 **Right next to me, Annabeth's voice said, "Percy!"**

 **I jumped so high my feet nearly cleared a garden gnome. "Jeez! Don't do that!"**

 **Annabeth took off her Yankees cap and became visible. 'You have to cut her head off."**

 **"What? Are you crazy? Let's get out of here."**

 **"Medusa is a menace. She's evil. I'd kill her myself, but..." Annabeth swallowed, as if she were about to make a difficult admission. "But you've got the better weapon. Besides, I'd never get close to her. She'd slice me to bits because of my mother. You—you've got a chance."**

Athena grimaced.

 **"What? I can't—"**

 **"Look, do you want her turning more innocent people into statues?"**

"Loyalty." Annaneth said.

 **She pointed to a pair of statue lovers, a man and a woman with their arms around each other, turned to stone by the monster.**

 **Annabeth grabbed a green gazing ball from a nearby pedestal. "A polished shield would be better." She studied the sphere critically. "The convexity will cause some distortion. The reflection's size should be off by a factor of—"**

"Would you speak English?" Poseidon said.

 **"Would you speak English?"**

"Like a father, like a son." Aphrodite smiled.

 **"I am!" She tossed me the glass ball. "Just look at her in the glass. Never look at her directly."**

 **"Hey, guys!" Grover yelled somewhere above us. "I think she's unconscious!"**

 **"Roooaaarrr!"**

Leo snickered.

"You think?"

 **"Maybe not," Grover corrected. He went in for another pass with the tree branch.**

 **"Hurry," Annabeth told me. "Grover's got a great nose, but he'll eventually crash.".**

 **I took out my pen and uncapped it. The bronze blade of Riptide elongated in my hand.**

 **I followed the hissing and spitting sounds of Medusa's hair.**

 **I kept my eyes locked on the gazing ball so I would only glimpse Medusa's reflection, not the real thing. Then, in the green tinted glass, I saw her.**

 **Grover was coming in for another turn at bat, but this time he flew a little too low. Medusa grabbed the stick and pulled him off course. He tumbled through the air and crashed into the arms of a stone grizzly bear with a painful "Ummphh!"**

 **Medusa was about to lunge at him when I yelled, "Hey!"**

 **I advanced on her, which wasn't easy, holding a sword and a glass ball. If she charged, I'd have a hard time defending myself.**

 **But she let me approach—twenty feet, ten feet.**

 **I could see the reflection of her face now. Surely it wasn't really that ugly. The green swirls of the gazing ball must be distorting it, making it look worse.**

 **"You wouldn't harm an old woman, Percy," she crooned. "I know you wouldn't."**

"True. But your a monster." Leo said.

 **I hesitated, fascinated by the face I saw reflected in the glass—the eyes that seemed to burn straight through the green tint, making my arms go weak.**

 **From the cement grizzly, Grover moaned, "Percy, don't listen to her!"**

 **Medusa cackled. "Too late."**

 **She lunged at me with her talons.**

 **I slashed up with my sword, heard a sickening shlock!, then a hiss like wind rushing out of a cavern—the sound of a monster disintegrating.**

 **Something fell to the ground next to my foot. It took all my willpower not to look. I could feel warm ooze soaking into my sock, little dying snake heads tugging at my shoelaces.**

 **"Oh, yuck," Grover said. His eyes were still tightly closed, but I guess he could hear the thing gurgling and steaming. "Mega-yuck."**

Aphrodite grimaced.

 **Annabeth came up next to me, her eyes fixed on the sky. She was holding Medusa's black veil. She said, "Don't move."**

 **Very, very carefully, without looking down, she knelt and draped the monster's head in black cloth, then picked it up. It was still dripping green juice.**

 **"Are you okay?" she asked me, her voice trembling.**

 **"Yeah," I decided, though I felt like throwing up my double cheeseburger. "Why didn't ... why didn't the head** **evaporate?"**

"It's a spoil of war, Prissy." Clarisse said.

 **"Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war," she said. "Same as your minotaur horn. But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you."**

 **Grover moaned as he climbed down from the grizzly statue. He had a big welt on his forehead. His green rasta cap hung from one of his little goat horns, and his fake feet had been knocked off his hooves. The magic sneakers were flying aimlessly around his head.**

 **"The Red Baron," I said. "Good job, man."**

 **He managed a bashful grin. "That really was not fun, though. Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun. But crashing into a concrete bear? Not fun."**

"Agreed." Everyone said.

 **He snatched his shoes out of the air. I recapped my sword. Together, the three of us stumbled back to the warehouse.**

 **We found some old plastic grocery bags behind the snack counter and double-wrapped Medusa's head. We plopped it on the table where we'd eaten dinner and sat around it, too exhausted to speak.**

 **Finally I said, "So we have Athena to thank for this monster?"**

Athena groaned. _Not reminded me._

 **Annabeth flashed me an irritated look. "Your dad, actually. Don't you remember? Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend. They decided to meet in my mother's temple. That's why Athena turned her into a monster. Medusa and her two sisters who had helped her get into the temple, they became the three gorgons. That's why Medusa wanted to slice me up, but she wanted to preserve you as a nice statue. She's still sweet on your dad. You probably reminded her of him."**

"So true." Poseidon muttered.

 **My face was burning. "Oh, so now it's my fault we met Medusa."**

 **Annabeth straightened. In a bad imitation of my voice, she said: "'It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?'"**

Athena chuckled.

 **"Forget it," I said. "You're impossible."**

 **"You're insufferable."**

 **"You're—"**

 **"Hey!" Grover interrupted. "You two are giving me a migraine, and satyrs don't even get migraines. What are we going to do with the head?"**

 **I stared at the thing. One little snake was hanging out of a hole in the plastic. The words printed on the side of the bag said: WE APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS!**

 **I was angry, not just with Annabeth or her mom, but with all the gods for this whole quest, for getting us blown off the road and in two major fights the very first day out from camp. At this rate, we'd never make it to L.A. alive, much less before the summer solstice.**

 **What had Medusa said?**

 **Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue.**

 **I got up. "I'll be back."**

 **"Percy," Annabeth called after me. "What are you—"**

 **I searched the back of the warehouse until I found Medusa's office. Her account book showed her six most recent sales, all shipments to the Underworld to decorate Hades and Persephone's garden. According to one freight bill, the Underworld's billing address was DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California. I folded up the bill and stuffed it in my pocket.**

 **In the cash register I found twenty dollars, a few golden drachmas, and some packing slips for Hermes Overnight Express, each with a little leather bag attached for coins. I rummaged around the rest of the office until I found the right-size box.**

 **I went back to the picnic table, packed up Medusa's head, and filled out a delivery slip:**

 **The Gods**

Zeus face turning pink.

 **Mount Olympus**

Zeus face turning red.

 **600th Floor,**

Zeus face turning purple.

 **Empire State Building**

"THAT FOOLISH BASTARD!" Zeus growled.

 **New York, NY**

"FUCK FUCK HIM!" Zeus cursed.

 **With best wishes,**

"MOTHER-!# !?%"

 **PERCY JACKSON**

"SON OF BITCH! I WILL KILL HIM!"

 **"They're not going to like that," Grover warned. "They'll think you're impertinent."**

 **I poured some golden drachmas in the pouch. As soon as I closed it, there was a sound like a cash register. The package floated off the table and disappeared with a pop!**

 **"I am impertinent," I said.**

 **I looked at Annabeth, daring her to criticize.**

 **She didn't. She seemed resigned to the fact that I had a major talent for ticking off the gods.**

"SO FUCKING TRUE!" Annabeth shouted.

Zeus face turn dark purple.

 **"Come on," she muttered. "We need a new plan."**

"Finished." Nico said.

"Who want to read next?" Hermes asked.

"Me." Thalia said.

Nico handed over the book to Thalia.

" **We Get Advice from a Poodle**." Thalia read out loud.


	13. We Get Advice from a Poodle

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

Lintsu13: Oh I certainly will! :)

InsaneDetective-sama: Thanks! I thought it hilarious too!

Death Fury: Thank you so much!

Guest: I have a good typing skills. Even once a while I typed too fast without checking them! XD

Please reviews again soon~! That'll make me feel better and write faster~!

* * *

Everyone laughed hysterically at the chapter's title.

"OH MY GODS!" Leo jumped up and down.

"Leo—uh—who give Leo skittles?!" Piper groaned.

Piper glared at the Stolls who is laughing.

"STOLLS! YOU BASTARDS! YOU KNEW THAT YOU CANNOT GIVE LEO SKITTLES! Y'KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN!" Piper screamed.

 **We were pretty miserable that night.**

Poseidon frowned.

 **We camped out in the woods, a hundred yards from the main road, in a marshy clearing that local kids had obviously been using for parties. The ground was littered with flattened soda cans and fast-food wrappers.**

 **We'd taken some food and blankets from Aunty Em's, but we didn't dare light a fire to dry our damp clothes. The Furies and Medusa had provided enough excitement for one day. We didn't want to attract anything else.**

 **We decided to sleep in shifts. I volunteered to take first watch.**

 **Annabeth curled up on the blankets and was snoring as soon as her head hit the ground. Grover fluttered with his flying shoes to the lowest bough of a tree, put his back to the trunk, and stared at the night sky.**

 **"Go ahead and sleep," I told him. "I'll wake you if there's trouble."**

 **He nodded, but still didn't close his eyes. "It makes me sad, Percy."**

 **"What does? The fact that you signed up for this stupid quest?"**

"That is sad." Clarisse said.

"Clarisse?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"..."

 **"No. This makes me sad." He pointed at all the garbage on the ground. "And the sky. You can't even see the stars. They've polluted the sky.**

Artemis and Hermes scowled.

"Those mortals bastards..."

 **This is a terrible time to be a satyr."**

 **"Oh, yeah. I guess you'd be an environmentalist."**

"..."

Demigods started to laughed.

 **He glared at me. "Only a human wouldn't be. Your species is clogging up the world so fast ... ah, never mind. It's useless to lecture a human. At the rate things are going, I'll never find Pan."**

 **"Pam? Like the cooking spray?"**

"PAN!" Hermes cried. "My son! P-A-N! The great god Pan!"

 **"Pan!" he cried indignantly. "P-A-N. The great god Pan! What do you think I want a searcher's license for?"**

 **A strange breeze rustled through the clearing, temporarily overpowering the stink of trash and muck. It brought the smell of berries and wildflowers and clean rainwater, things that might've once been in these woods. Suddenly I was nostalgic for something I'd never known.**

 **"Tell me about the search," I said.**

 **Grover looked at me cautiously, as if he were afraid I was just making fun.**

"True."

 **"The God of Wild Places disappeared two thousand years ago," he told me.**

Hermes started to cry about his son who vanished two thousand years ago.

 **"A sailor off the coast of Ephesos heard a mysterious voice crying out from the shore, 'Tell them that the great god Pan has died!' When humans heard the news, they believed it. They've been pillaging Pan's kingdom ever since.**

"Mortals are just a sick bastards! WHO PILLAGING MY SON'S KINGDOM!" Hermes roared.

 **But for the satyrs, Pan was our lord and master. He protected us and the wild places of the earth. We refuse to believe that he died. In every generation, the bravest satyrs pledge their lives to finding Pan. They search the earth, exploring all the wildest places, hoping to find where he is hidden, and wake him from his sleep."**

 **"And you want to be a searcher."**

 **"It's my life's dream," he said. "My father was a searcher. And my Uncle Ferdinand ... the statue you saw back there—"**

 **"Oh, right, sorry."**

 **Grover shook his head. "Uncle Ferdinand knew the risks. So did my dad. But I'll succeed. I'll be the first searcher to return alive."**

"Hang on—the first?" Jason raise his eyebrows.

 **"Hang on—the first?"**

"Great, I sound like a Faun." Jason grumbled.

 **Grover took his reed pipes out of his pocket. "No searcher has ever come back. Once they set out, they disappear. They're never seen alive again."**

 **"Not once in two thousand years?"**

 **"No."**

 **"And your dad? You have no idea what happened to him?"**

 **"None."**

"Ouch."

 **"But you still want to go," I said, amazed. "I mean, you really think you'll be the one to find Pan?"**

"Yes!" Demigods screamed.

The Olympians raise their eyebrows in a suspiciously look.

 **"I have to believe that, Percy. Every searcher does. It's the only thing that keeps us from despair when we look at what humans have done to the world. I have to believe Pan can still be awakened."**

 **I stared at the orange haze of the sky and tried to understand how Grover could pursue a dream that seemed so hopeless. Then again, was I any better?**

 **"How are we going to get into the Underworld?" I asked him. "I mean, what chance do we have against a god?"**

 **"I don't know," he admitted. "But back at Medusa's, when you were searching her office? Annabeth was telling me—"**

 **"Oh, I forgot. Annabeth will have a plan all figured out."**

"Hey!"

 **"Don't be so hard on her, Percy. She's had a tough life, but she's a good person. After all, she forgave me..." His voice faltered.**

"GROVER! After this, I will beat you up! THIS ISN'T YOUR DAM FAULT! IT WAS MY CHOICE!" Thalia screamed.

 **"What do you mean?" I asked. "Forgave you for what?"**

 **Suddenly, Grover seemed very interested in playing notes on his pipes.**

 **"Wait a minute," I said. "Your first keeper job was five years ago. Annabeth has been at camp five years. She wasn't ... I mean, your first assignment that went wrong—"**

 **"I can't talk about it," Grover said, and his quivering lower lip suggested he'd start crying if I pressed him. "But as I was saying, back at Medusa's, Annabeth and I agreed there's something strange going on with this quest. Something isn't what it seems."**

 **"Well, duh. I'm getting blamed for stealing a thunderbolt that Hades took."**

At this point Poseidon glared at teenage Zeus.

Teenage Zeus shrink at Poseidon's famous death glare.

 **"That's not what I mean," Grover said. "The Fur—The Kindly Ones were sort of holding back. Like Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy ... why did she wait so long to try to kill you? Then on the bus, they just weren't as aggressive as they could've been."**

 **"They seemed plenty aggressive to me."**

 **Grover shook his head. "They were screeching at us: 'Where is it? Where?'"**

 **"Asking about me," I said.**

 **"Maybe ... but Annabeth and I, we both got the feeling they weren't asking about a person. They said 'Where is it?' They seemed to be asking about an object."**

 **"That doesn't make sense."**

 **"I know. But if we've misunderstood something about this quest, and we only have nine days to find the master bolt..." He looked at me like he was hoping for answers, but I didn't have any.**

 **I thought about what Medusa had said: I was being used by the gods. What lay ahead of me was worse than petrification. "I haven't been straight with you," I told Grover. "I don't care about the master bolt. I agreed to go to the Underworld so I could bring back my mother."**

Zeus pouted.

Hades grinned.

Poseidon groan and cursing in Ancient Greek.

 **Grover blew a soft note on his pipes. "I know that, Percy. But are you sure that's the only reason?"**

 **"I'm not doing it to help my father. He doesn't care about me. I don't care about him."**

 **Grover gazed down from his tree branch. "Look, Percy, I'm not as smart as Annabeth. I'm not as brave as you. But I'm pretty good at reading emotions. You're glad your dad is alive. You feel good that he's claimed you, and part of you wants to make him proud. That's why you mailed Medusa's head to Olympus. You wanted him to notice what you'd done."**

 **"Yeah? Well maybe satyr emotions work differently than human emotions. Because you're wrong. I don't care what he thinks."**

 **Grover pulled his feet up onto the branch. "Okay, Percy. Whatever."**

 **"Besides, I haven't done anything worth bragging about. We barely got out of New York and we're stuck here with no money and no way west."**

 **Grover looked at the night sky, like he was thinking about that problem. "How about I take first watch, huh? You get some sleep."**

 **I wanted to protest, but he started to play Mozart, soft and sweet, and I turned away, my eyes stinging. After a few bars of Piano Concerto no. 12, I was asleep.**

 **In my dreams, I stood in a dark cavern before a gaping pit. Gray mist creatures churned all around me, whispering rags of smoke that I somehow knew were the spirits of the dead.**

Everyone glared at Hades.

"What?!"

"..."

"Stop! Stop looking at me, like I've done something stupid."

 **They tugged at my clothes, trying to pull me back, but I felt compelled to walk forward to the very edge of the chasm.**

 **Looking down made me dizzy.**

 **The pit yawned so wide and was so completely black, I knew it must be bottomless. Yet I had a feeling that something was trying to rise from the abyss, something huge and evil.**

Olympians paled. _It cannot be..! Lord Zeus already cut 'him' to pieces._

Zeus' face was the worst. _Oh snap! My father is rising! Fuck!_

 **The little hero, an amused voice echoed far down in the darkness. Too weak, too young, but perhaps you will do.**

 **The voice felt ancient—cold and heavy. It wrapped around me like sheets of lead.**

 **They have misled you, boy, it said. Barter with me. I will give you what you want.**

"FUCK NO!" Olympians yelled.

 **A shimmering image hovered over the void: my mother, frozen at the moment she'd dissolved in a shower of gold. Her face was distorted with pain, as if the Minotaur were still squeezing her neck. Her eyes looked directly at me, pleading: Go!**

"Fuck you Dad. I still hate you.." Poseidon grumbled and use a middle finger.

 **I tried to cry out, but my voice wouldn't work.**

 **Cold laughter echoed from the chasm.**

 **An invisible force pulled me forward. It would drag me into the pit unless I stood firm.**

 **Help me rise, boy. The voice became hungrier. Bring me the bolt. Strike a blow against the treacherous gods!**

Zeus snorted. "Like hell he would."

 **The spirits of the dead whispered around me, No! Wake!**

Everyone stared at Hades.

"WHAT?!"

"..."

"FUCK OFF! STOP STARRING AT ME YOU BLOCKHEAD!"

 **The image of my mother began to fade. The thing in the pit tightened its unseen grip around me.**

 **I realized it wasn't interested in pulling me in. It was using me to pull itself out.**

 **Good, it murmured. Good.**

 **Wake! the dead whispered. Wake!**

 **Someone was shaking me.**

 **My eyes opened, and it was daylight.**

 **"Well," Annabeth said, "the zombie lives."**

Everyone chuckled, while Annabeth blushed furiously.

 **I was trembling from the dream. I could still feel the grip of the chasm monster around my chest. "How long was I asleep?"**

 **"Long enough for me to cook breakfast." Annabeth tossed me a bag of nacho-flavored corn chips from Aunty Em's snack bar. "And Grover went exploring. Look, he found a friend."**

 **My eyes had trouble focusing.**

 **Grover was sitting cross-legged on a blanket with something fuzzy in his lap, a dirty, unnaturally pink stuffed animal.**

 **No. It wasn't a stuffed animal. It was a pink poodle.**

Leo gasped with a dawn of realization.

 **The poodle yapped at me suspiciously. Grover said, "No, he's not."**

 **I blinked. "Are you ... talking to that thing?"**

"Uh yeah, duh." Annabeth said sarcastically.

 **The poodle growled.**

 **"This thing," Grover warned, "is our ticket west. Be nice to him."**

 **"You can talk to animals?"**

"You can!? What about Festus? It a dragon!" Leo exclaimed.

"..."

"Uh Leo?"

"Yes?"

"Yours is a robot dragon. Not an animal."

"Oh.."

"Dumbass."

 **Grover ignored the question. "Percy, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, Percy."**

 **I stared at Annabeth, figuring she'd crack up at this practical joke they were playing on me, but she looked deadly serious.**

 **"I'm not saying hello to a pink poodle," I said. "Forget it."**

 **"Percy," Annabeth said. "I said hello to the poodle. You say hello to the poodle."**

Everyone laughed hysterically.

 **The poodle growled.**

 **I said hello to the poodle.**

 **Grover explained that he'd come across Gladiola in the woods and they'd struck up a conversation. The poodle had run away from a rich local family, who'd posted a $200 reward for his return. Gladiola didn't really want to go back to his family, but he was willing to if it meant helping Grover.**

 **"How does Gladiola know about the reward?" I asked.**

 **"He read the signs," Grover said. "Duh."**

"Oh, I thought dogs aren't smarter." Leo said.

"LEO! DID YOU PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS?!"

"Um. No?"

"*smack* Ow!"

 **"Of course," I said. "Silly me."**

 **"So we turn in Gladiola," Annabeth explained in her best strategy voice, "we get money, and we buy tickets to Los Angeles. Simple."**

 **I thought about my dream—the whispering voices of the dead, the thing in the chasm, and my mother's face, shimmering as it dissolved into gold. All that might be waiting for me in the West.**

 **"Not another bus," I said warily.**

 **"No," Annabeth agreed.**

 **She pointed downhill, toward train tracks I hadn't been able to see last night in the dark. "There's an Amtrak station half a mile that way. According to Gladiola, the westbound train leaves at noon."**

"Finished." Thalia said.

"Who want to read next?" Aphrodite asked.

"Me." Hera said.

Thalia scowled.

Thalia handed over the book to Queen of Gods.

" **I Plunge to My Death**." Hera read out loud.


	14. I Plunge to My Death

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

* * *

Poseidon groaned.

"Great, I'm about to read that my son is going to get himself _killed_." Poseidon facepalmed.

 **We spent two days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, past amber waves of grain.**

 **We weren't attacked once, but I didn't relax. I felt that we were traveling around in a display case, being watched from above and maybe from below, that something was waiting for the right opportunity.**

 **I tried to keep a low profile because my name and picture were splattered over the front pages of several East Coast newspapers. The Trenton Register-News showed a photo taken by a tourist as I got off the Greyhound bus. I had a wild look in my eyes. My sword was a metallic blur in my hands. It might've been a baseball bat or a lacrosse stick.**

 **The picture's caption read:**

 **Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson, wanted for questioning in the Long Island disappearance of his mother two weeks ago, is shown here fleeing from the bus where he accosted several elderly female passengers. The bus exploded on an east New Jersey roadside shortly after Jackson fled the scene. Based on eyewitness accounts, police believe the boy may be traveling with two teenage accomplices. His stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, has offered a cash reward for information leading to his capture.**

"CAPTURE?!" Poseidon roared and entered rage mode.

"THAT SON OF !# !?%! I WILL KILL HIS SHIT OF HIM! KICK HIM TO TARTARUS!" Poseidon roared.

"Poseidon!"

"Don't. You. Dare. Fuck. Me." Poseidon glared at Zeus with a don't-fuck-me glare.

Zeus gulped.

"BUT I DIN'T GIVE A DAMN! I WILL KICK IT! I DON'T HAVE TO SAVE HIS SORRY ASS!" Poseidon roared.

 **"Don't worry," Annabeth told me. "Mortal police could never find us." But she didn't sound so sure.**

 **The rest of the day I spent alternately pacing the length of the train (because I had a really hard time sitting still) or looking out the windows.**

 **Once, I spotted a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field, bows at the ready, as they hunted lunch. The little boy centaur, who was the size of a second-grader on a pony, caught my eye and waved. I looked around the passenger car, but nobody else had noticed. The adult riders all had their faces buried in laptop computers or magazines.**

 **Another time, toward evening, I saw something huge moving through the woods. I could've sworn it was a lion, except that lions don't live wild in America, and this thing was the size of a Hummer. Its fur glinted gold in the evening light. Then it leaped through the trees and was gone.**

Everyone gasped. _No way!_

Thalia grimaced from that memory. ( **A/N: Titan's Curse, if you don't know.** )

 **Our reward money for returning Gladiola the poodle had only been enough to purchase tickets as far as Denver. We couldn't get berths in the sleeper car, so we dozed in our seats. My neck got stiff. I tried not to drool in my sleep, since Annabeth was sitting right next to me.**

Everyone chuckled.

 **Grover kept snoring and bleating and waking me up. Once, he shuffled around and his fake foot fell off. Annabeth and I had to stick it back on before any of the other passengers noticed.**

 **"So," Annabeth asked me, once we'd gotten Grover's sneaker readjusted. "Who wants your help?"**

 **"What do you mean?"**

 **"When you were asleep just now, you mumbled, 'I won't help you.' Who were you dreaming about?"**

"Exposed~!"

 _Smack!_

"OW!"

"You both deserve that!"

The Stolls pouted.

 **I was reluctant to say anything. It was the second time I'd dreamed about the evil voice from the pit. But it bothered me so much I finally told her.**

 **Annabeth was quiet for a long time. "That doesn't sound like Hades. He always appears on a black throne, and he never laughs."**

 **"He offered my mother in trade. Who else could do that?"**

 **"I guess ... if he meant, 'Help me rise from the Underworld.' If he wants war with the Olympians. But why ask you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?"**

 **I shook my head, wishing I knew the answer. I thought about what Grover had told me, that the Furies on the bus seemed to have been looking for something.**

 **Where is it? Where?**

 **Maybe Grover sensed my emotions. He snorted in his sleep, muttered something about vegetables, and turned his head.**

 **Annabeth readjusted his cap so it covered his horns. "Percy, you can't barter with Hades. You know that, right? He's deceitful, heartless, and greedy. I don't care if his Kindly Ones weren't as aggressive this time—"**

 **"This time?" I asked. "You mean you've run into them before?"**

Thalia and Annabeth grimaced.

 **Her hand crept up to her necklace. She fingered a glazed white bead painted with the image of a pine tree, one of her clay end-of-summer tokens. "Let's just say I've got no love for the Lord of the Dead. You can't be tempted to make a deal for your mom."**

 **"What would you do if it was your dad?"**

 **"That's easy," she said. "I'd leave him to rot."**

Everyone including Athena's jaw dropped.

 **"You're not serious?"**

 **Annabeth's gray eyes fixed on me. She wore the same expression she'd worn in the woods at camp, the moment she drew her sword against the hellhound. "My dad's resented me since the day I was born, Percy," she said. "He never wanted a baby. When he got me, he asked Athena to take me back and raise me on Olympus because he was too busy with his work. She wasn't happy about that. She told him heroes had to be raised by their mortal parent."**

 **"But how ... I mean, I guess you weren't born in a hospital..."**

 **"I appeared on my father's doorstep, in a golden cradle, carried down from Olympus by Zephyr the West Wind. You'd think my dad would remember that as a miracle, right? Like, maybe he'd take some digital photos or something. But he always talked about my arrival as if it were the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to him. When I was five he got married and totally forgot about Athena. He got a 'regular' mortal wife, and had two 'regular' mortal kids, and tried to pretend I didn't exist."**

 **I stared out the train window. The lights of a sleeping town were drifting by. I wanted to make Annabeth feel better, but I didn't know how.**

"Awwww!" Aphrodite and Aphrodite's childrens squealed.

 **"My mom married a really awful guy," I told her. "Grover said she did it to protect me, to hide me in the scent of a human family. Maybe that's what your dad was thinking."**

 **Annabeth kept worrying at her necklace. She was pinching the gold college ring that hung with the beads. It occurred to me that the ring must be her father's. I wondered why she wore it if she hated him so much.**

 **"He doesn't care about me," she said. "His wife—my stepmom—treated me like a freak. She wouldn't let me play with her children. My dad went along with her. Whenever something dangerous happened—you know, something with monsters—they would both look at me resentfully, like, 'How dare you put our family at risk.' Finally, I took the hint. I wasn't wanted. I ran away."**

Athena's face become pink and steam is coming out of her ears.

That bastards must pay, Athena thought.

 **"How old were you?"**

 **"Same age as when I started camp. Seven."**

Athena look pissed.

Everyone expect Poseidon slowly moving away from her.

 **"But ... you couldn't have gotten all the way to Half-Blood Hill by yourself."**

 **"Not alone, no. Athena watched over me, guided me toward help. I made a couple of unexpected friends who took care of me, for a short time, anyway."**

Thalia winced.

 **I wanted to ask what happened, but Annabeth seemed lost in sad memories. So I listened to the sound of Grover snoring and gazed out the train windows as the dark fields of Ohio raced by.**

 **Toward the end of our second day on the train, June 13, eight days before the summer solstice, we passed through some golden hills and over the Mississippi River into St. Louis. Annabeth craned her neck to see the Gateway Arch, which looked to me like a huge shopping bag handle stuck on the city.**

Athena and Athena's children cooed and awed.

 **"I want to do that," she sighed.**

"What?" Poseidon asked.

"Building, you idiot."

"Oh."

"Dumbass."

"HEY!"

"It's true!"

Poseidon pouted.

 **"What?" I asked.**

"Like father, like son." Hermes grinned.

 **"Build something like that. You ever see the Parthenon, Percy?"**

 **"Only in pictures."**

 **"Someday, I'm going to see it in person. I'm going to build the greatest monument to the gods, ever. Something that'll last a thousand years."**

Athena beamed.

 **I laughed. "You? An architect?"**

"WHAT IS SO FUNNY ABOUT IT!?" Athena yelled.

Hera smirked.

 **I don't know why, but I found it funny. Just the idea of Annabeth trying to sit quietly and draw all day.**

"Oh."

Everyone laughed hysterically, but Poseidon was the loudest.

 **Her cheeks flushed. "Yes, an architect. Athena expects her children to create things, not just tear them down, like a certain god of earthquakes I could mention."**

"HEY!"

"Nice one Annabeth."

Annabeth look down with a red face. Because this is her first time hearing a compliment from her own mother.

 **I watched the churning brown water of the Mississippi below.**

 **"Sorry," Annabeth said. "That was mean."**

"Aw! It was a good one! A perfect one..." Athena muttered with a grin on her face.

"Shut up Owl Head."

 **"Can't we work together a little?" I pleaded. "I mean, didn't Athena and Poseidon ever cooperate?"**

Athena and Poseidon look at each other and then quickly turn their head and stared at the wall with a red face. ( **A/N: And yes, I really loves Poseidon and Athena. So it will eventual** **pothena. Dammit. I sound like Aphrodite...** )

 **Annabeth had to think about it. "I guess ... the chariot," she said tentatively. "My mom invented it, but Poseidon created horses out of the crests of waves. So they had to work together to make it complete."**

 **"Then we can cooperate, too. Right?"**

 **We rode into the city, Annabeth watching as the Arch disappeared behind a hotel.**

 **"I suppose," she said at last.**

 **We pulled into the Amtrak station downtown. The intercom told us we'd have a three-hour layover before departing for Denver.**

 **Grover stretched. Before he was even fully awake, he said, "Food."**

Everyone chuckled. _Typical Grover._

 **"Come on, goat boy," Annabeth said. "Sightseeing."**

"Oh no...Why that I am getting a bad feeling about this," Poseidon muttered. "About my son will get involved on something..."

Annabeth grimaced.

 **"Sightseeing?"**

 **"The Gateway Arch," she said. "This may be my only chance to ride to the top. Are you coming or not?"**

 **Grover and I exchanged looks.**

 **I wanted to say no, but I figured that if Annabeth was going, we couldn't very well let her go alone.**

"Damn fatal flaw." Annabeth mumbled.

 **Grover shrugged. "As long as there's a snack bar without monsters."**

"Ooh! Remember from that dam snack bar?" Thalia shouted.

"..."

"Oh right, you guys wasn't there."

 **The Arch was about a mile from the train station. Late in the day the lines to get in weren't that long. We threaded our way through the underground museum, looking at covered wagons and other junk from the 1800s. It wasn't all that thrilling, but Annabeth kept telling us interesting facts about how the Arch was built, and Grover kept passing me jelly beans, so I was okay.**

 **I kept looking around, though, at the other people in line. "You smell anything?" I murmured to Grover.**

 **He took his nose out of the jelly-bean bag long enough to sniff. "Underground," he said distastefully. "Underground air always smells like monsters. Probably doesn't mean anything."**

"...'PROBABLY'?!" Poseidon roared.

 **But something felt wrong to me. I had a feeling we shouldn't be here.**

Poseidon groaned.

"I really hates that my gut is right...Damn oath."

 **"Guys," I said. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"**

 **Annabeth had been in the middle of reading about the construction equipment used to build the Arch, but she looked over. "Yeah?"**

 **"Well, Hade—"**

 **Grover cleared his throat. "We're in a public place... You mean, our friend downstairs?"**

Hades pouted.

 **"Um, right," I said. "Our friend way downstairs. Doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"**

"...That was the worst insult that I ever heard."

 **"You mean the Helm of Darkness," Annabeth said. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting."**

 **"He was there?" I asked.**

 **She nodded. "It's the only time he's allowed to visit Olympus—the darkest day of the year. But his helm is a lot more powerful than my invisibility hat, if what I've heard is true..."**

"True!~" Hades chorused.

Nico grinned.

 **"It allows him to become darkness," Grover confirmed. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"**

 **"But then ... how do we know he's not here right now, watching us?" I asked.**

"What!? I would never do such a thing! I'm not a stalker."

"YOU KIDNAPPED MY PERSEPHONE!" Demeter cried.

"THAT WAS MILLENNIAS YEARS AGO! GIVE IT UP WOMAN!"

"NEVER!"

"FUCK YOU!"

 **Annabeth and Grover exchanged looks.**

 **"We don't," Grover said.**

 **"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better," I said. "Got any blue jelly beans left?"**

 **I'd almost mastered my jumpy nerves when I saw the tiny little elevator car we were going to ride to the top of the Arch, and I knew I was in trouble. I hate confined places. They make me nuts.**

Zeus smile evilly.

"Just like Poseidon. Remember one time that you—"

"—ZEUS! IT REALLY NOT THE DAMN TIME!"

Olympians chuckled at that memory.

 **We got shoehorned into the car with this big fat lady and her dog, a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar. I figured maybe the dog was a seeing-eye Chihuahua, because none of the guards said a word about it.**

 **We started going up, inside the Arch. I'd never been in an elevator that went in a curve, and my stomach wasn't too happy about it.**

 **"No parents?" the fat lady asked us.**

 **She had beady eyes; pointy, coffee-stained teeth; a floppy denim hat, and a denim dress that bulged so much, she looked like a blue-jean blimp.**

 **"They're below," Annabeth told her. "Scared of heights."**

 **"Oh, the poor darlings."**

 **The Chihuahua growled. The woman said, "Now, now, sonny. Behave." The dog had beady eyes like its owner, intelligent and vicious.**

 **I said, "Sonny. Is that his name?"**

 **"No," the lady told me.**

 **She smiled, as if that cleared everything up.**

"Monster." Athena blurted.

"Fuck." Poseidon cursed.

 **At the top of the Arch, the observation deck reminded me of a tin can with carpeting. Rows of tiny windows looked out over the city on one side and the river on the other. The view was okay, but if there's anything I like less than a confined space, it's a confined space six hundred feet in the air.**

Thalia paled. _That is very h-high!_

 **I was ready to go pretty quick.**

 **Annabeth kept talking about structural supports, and how she would've made the windows bigger, and designed a see-through floor. She probably could've stayed up there for hours, but luckily for me the park ranger announced that the observation deck would be closing in a few minutes.**

 **I steered Grover and Annabeth toward the exit, loaded them into the elevator, and I was about to get in myself when I realized there were already two other tourists inside. No room for me.**

 **The park ranger said, "Next car, sir."**

 **"We'll get out," Annabeth said. "We'll wait with you."**

"And that was our first fatal mistake." Annabeth sighed.

Poseidon paled.

 **But that was going to mess everybody up and take even more time, so I said, "Naw, it's okay. I'll see you guys at the bottom."**

 **Grover and Annabeth both looked nervous, but they let the elevator door slide shut. Their car disappeared down the ramp.**

 **Now the only people left on the observation deck were me, a little boy with his parents, the park ranger, and the fat lady with her Chihuahua.**

 **I smiled uneasily at the fat lady. She smiled back, her forked tongue flickering between her teeth.**

"Wait a minute, forked tongue?" Leo exclaimed.

Poseidon doesn't look so good.

 **Wait a minute.**

 **Forked tongue?**

 **Before I could decide if I'd really seen that, her Chihuahua jumped down and started yapping at me.**

 **"Now, now, sonny," the lady said. "Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here."**

 **"Doggie!" said the little boy. "Look, a doggie!"**

 **His parents pulled him back.**

"Good..Unless you want to get yourself killed by a Chihuahua.." Athena muttered.

 **The Chihuahua bared his teeth at me, foam dripping from his black lips.**

 **"Well, son," the fat lady sighed. "If you insist."**

"Son?!" Leo screamed with a dumbfounded look.

 **Ice started forming in my stomach. "Urn, did you just call that Chihuahua your son?"**

 **"Chimera, dear," the fat lady corrected.**

"Oh no. Chimera and Echidna? This is will be bad for him without any training. How could he survived from that?!" Athena exclaimed with a shock face.

"Spoilers."

 **"Not a Chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make."**

 **She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green. When she smiled, I saw that her teeth were fangs. The pupils of her eyes were sideways slits, like a reptile's.**

Poseidon turned into a puddle of water and started to mourn.

 **The Chihuahua barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Doberman, then to a lion. The bark became a roar.**

 **The little boy screamed. His parents pulled him back toward the exit, straight into the park ranger, who stood, paralyzed, gaping at the monster.**

 **The Chimera was now so tall its back rubbed against the roof. It had the head of a lion with a blood-caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail, a ten-foot-long diamondback growing right out of its shaggy behind. The rhinestone dog collar still hung around its neck, and the plate-sized dog tag was now easy to read: CHIMERA—RABID, FIRE-BREATHING, POISONOUS—IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS—EXT. 954.**

Annabeth shuddered at the word 'Tartarus'.

Athena look at her and narrowed her eyes in a suspicious expression.

 **I realized I hadn't even uncapped my sword. My hands were numb. I was ten feet away from the Chimera's bloody maw, and I knew that as soon as I moved, the creature would lunge.**

 **The snake lady made a hissing noise that might've been laughter. "Be honored, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!"**

Poseidon's face look like a very mad Mother Rhea like when Kronos ate her children. It something that you really don't want to know.

"ZEUS! YOU DAMNED BASTARD! I WISH THAT FATHER ATE YOU! I WISH THAT I CAST YOU IN TARTARUS! I SWEAR TO CHAOS!"

Suddenly the air went colder and the sky went little darker.

Everyone stared at Poseidon in horror/ shock even Zeus.

 **I stared at her. All I could think to say was: "Isn't that a kind of anteater?"**

 _Bad move Percy_ thought Apollo.

 **She howled, her reptilian face turning brown and green with rage. "I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! Naming that ridiculous animal after me. For that, Percy Jackson, my son shall destroy you!"**

Poseidon whimpered.

 **The Chimera charged, its lion teeth gnashing. I managed to leap aside and dodge the bite.**

 **I ended up next to the family and the park ranger, who were all screaming now, trying to pry open the emergency exit doors.**

 **I couldn't let them get hurt. I uncapped my sword, ran to the other side of the deck, and yelled, "Hey, Chihuahua!" The Chimera turned faster than I would've thought possible.**

 **Before I could swing my sword, it opened its mouth, emitting a stench like the world's largest barbecue pit, and shot a column of flame straight at me.**

 **I dove through the explosion. The carpet burst into flames; the heat was so intense, it nearly seared off my eyebrows.**

 **Where I had been standing a moment before was a ragged hole in the side of the Arch, with melted metal steaming around the edges.**

 **Great, I thought. We just blowtorched a national monument.**

"Ooh! That was on the news, fifteen years ago." Leo exclaimed.

"Jeez, you finally remembered."

"HEY! I can remember something if I wanted to!"

 **Riptide was now a shining bronze blade in my hands, and as the Chimera turned, I slashed at its neck.**

"Stupid boy!" Artemis muttered while facepalmed.

 **That was my fatal mistake.**

"Told ya."

 **The blade sparked harmlessly off the dog collar. I tried to regain my balance, but I was so worried about defending myself against the fiery lion's mouth, I completely forgot about the serpent tail until it whipped around and sank its fangs into my calf.**

Poseidon groaned.

 **My whole leg was on fire. I tried to jab Riptide into the Chimera's mouth, but the serpent tail wrapped around my ankles and pulled me off balance, and my blade flew out of my hand, spinning out of the hole in the Arch and down toward the Mississippi River.**

Poseidon whimpered.

 **I managed to get to my feet, but I knew I had lost. I was weaponless. I could feel deadly poison racing up to my chest. I remembered Chiron saying that Anaklusmos would always return to me, but there was no pen in my pocket. Maybe it had fallen too far away. Maybe it only returned when it was in pen form. I didn't know, and I wasn't going to live long enough to figure it out.**

 **I backed into the hole in the wall. The Chimera advanced, growling, smoke curling from its lips. The snake lady, Echidna, cackled. "They don't make heroes like they used to, eh, son?"**

 **The monster growled. It seemed in no hurry to finish me off now that I was beaten.**

 **I glanced at the park ranger and the family. The little boy was hiding behind his father's legs. I had to protect these people. I couldn't just ... die. I tried to think, but my whole body was on fire. My head felt dizzy. I had no sword. I was facing a massive, fire-breathing monster and its mother. And I was scared.**

 **There was no place else to go, so I stepped to the edge of the hole. Far, far below, the river glittered.**

 **If I died, would the monsters go away? Would they leave the humans alone?**

"Yes, but please don't get yourself killed." Poseidon muttered.

 **"If you are the son of Poseidon," Echidna hissed, "you would not fear water. Jump, Percy Jackson. Show me that water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline."**

"Did she just let him live?" Leo gasped.

"Yes."

"Wow. That rare."

 **Yeah, right, I thought. I'd read somewhere that jumping into water from a couple of stories up was like jumping onto solid asphalt. From here, I'd splatter on impact.**

"True."

 **The Chimera's mouth glowed red, heating up for another blast.**

 **"You have no faith," Echidna told me. "You do not trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward.**

"HE IS NOT A COWARD YOU BASTARD!" Annabeth yelled.

 **Better you die now. The gods are faithless. The poison is in your heart."**

Poseidon whimpered.

 **She was right: I was dying. I could feel my breath slowing down. Nobody could save me, not even the gods.**

"Damn the law..." Poseidon muttered sadly.

 **I backed up and looked down at the water. I remembered the warm glow of my father's smile when I was a baby. He must have seen me. He must have visited me when I was in my cradle.**

The Demigods felt jealous.

 **I remembered the swirling green trident that had appeared above my head the night of capture the flag, when Poseidon had claimed me as his son.**

 **But this wasn't the sea. This was the Mississippi, dead center of the USA. There was no Sea God here.**

Poseidon groaned.

"If my son died. I will going to fade myself.." Poseidon said.

 **"Die, faithless one," Echidna rasped, and the Chimera sent a column of flame toward my face.**

 **"Father, help me," I prayed.**

"Oh, I WILL!"

 **I turned and jumped. My clothes on fire, poison coursing through my veins, I plummeted toward the river.**

"Finished." Hera said.

"Who want to read next?" Zeus asked.

"Me." Leo said.

Hera handed over the book to Leo.

" **I Become a Known Fugitive**." Leo read out loud.


	15. I Become a Known Fugitive

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

* * *

"Oh great," Poseidon grumbled. "My son is a fugitive, all to _you_ Zeus."

 **I'd love to tell you I had some deep revelation on my way down, that I came to terms with my own mortality, laughed in the face of death, et cetera.**

 **The truth?** **My only thought was: Aaaaggghhhhh!**

"Fuck you Zeus and Fuck you Chimera and Echidna!" Poseidon cursed.

 **The river raced toward me at the speed of a truck. Wind ripped the breath from my lungs. Steeples and skyscrapers and bridges tumbled in and out of my vision.**

 **And then: Flaaa-boooom!**

 **A whiteout of bubbles. I sank through the murk, sure that I was about to end up embedded in a hundred feet of mud and lost forever.**

 **But my impact with the water hadn't hurt. I was falling slowly now, bubbles trickling up through my fingers. I settled on the river bottom soundlessly. A catfish the size of my stepfather lurched away into the gloom. Clouds of silt and disgusting garbage—beer bottles, old shoes, plastic bags—swirled up all around me.**

Poseidon wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Please tell me that I took care of that river." Poseidon asked.

Annabeth nodded.

"It look like fresh."

"No kidding." Leo added.

Poseidon beamed.

 **At that point, I realized a few things: first, I had not been flattened into a pancake. I had not been barbecued. I couldn't even feel the Chimera poison boiling in my veins anymore. I was alive, which was good.**

"Yup. That is a good." Jason muttered.

 **Second realization: I wasn't wet. I mean, I could feel the coolness of the water. I could see where the fire on my clothes had been quenched. But when I touched my own shirt, it felt perfectly dry.**

Leo's jaw dropped.

"No way!"

 **I looked at the garbage floating by and snatched an old cigarette lighter.**

 **No way, I thought.**

 **I flicked the lighter. It sparked. A tiny flame appeared, right there at the bottom of the Mississippi.**

The Demigods and Olympians expect for Annabeth and Poseidon jaw dropped.

"LUCKILY BASTARD!"

 _Smack!_

"Ow! Hera why?!"

"Because, that I have only been waiting for slapping you face for millennia."

Zeus' jaw dropped.

"OOOOOH BUUUURN!" Hermes snickered.

 **I grabbed a soggy hamburger wrapper out of the current and immediately the paper turned dry. I lit it with no problem. As soon as I let it go, the flames sputtered out. The wrapper turned back into a slimy rag. Weird.**

 **But the strangest thought occurred to me only last: I was breathing. I was underwater, and I was breathing normally.**

"Wow." Leo exclaimed.

 **I stood up, thigh-deep in mud. My legs felt shaky. My hands trembled. I should've been dead. The fact that I wasn't seemed like ... well, a miracle. I imagined a woman's voice, a voice that sounded a bit like my mother: Percy, what do you say?**

 **"Um ... thanks." Underwater, I sounded like I did on recordings, like a much older kid. "Thank you ... Father."**

Poseidon beamed.

 **No response. Just the dark drift of garbage downriver, the enormous catfish gliding by, the flash of sunset on the water's surface far above, turning everything the color of butterscotch.**

 **Why had Poseidon saved me? The more I thought about it, the more ashamed I felt. So I'd gotten lucky a few times before. Against a thing like the Chimera, I had never stood a chance. Those poor people in the Arch were probably toast. I couldn't protect them. I was no hero.**

"What is up these depression thoughts?" Nico said.

Everyone jumped and completely forgot that Nico is here.

 **Maybe I should just stay down here with the catfish, join the bottom feeders.**

 **Fump-fump-fump. A riverboat's paddlewheel churned above me, swirling the silt around.**

 **There, not five feet in front of me, was my sword, its gleaming bronze hilt sticking up in the mud.**

 **I heard that woman's voice again: Percy, take the sword. Your father believes in you. This time, I knew the voice wasn't in my head. I wasn't imagining it. Her words seemed to come from everywhere, rippling through the water like dolphin sonar.**

 **"Where are you?" I called aloud.**

 **Then, through the gloom, I saw her—a woman the color of the water, a ghost in the current, floating just above the sword. She had long billowing hair, and her eyes, barely visible, were green like mine.**

 **A lump formed in my throat. I said, "Mom?"**

Poseidon look sad on the next minute and then on the next minute he was furious.

 **No, child, only a messenger, though your mother's fate is not as hopeless as you believe. Go to the beach in Santa Monica.**

 **"What?"**

 **It is your father's will. Before you descend into the Underworld, you must go to Santa Monica. Please, Percy, I cannot stay long. The river here is too foul for my presence.**

"Like consistently.." Poseidon muttered.

 **"But ..." I was sure this woman was my mother, or a vision of her, anyway. "Who—how did you—"**

 **There was so much I wanted to ask, the words jammed up in my throat.**

 **I cannot stay, brave one, the woman said. She reached out, and I felt the current brush my face like a caress. You must go to Santa Monica! And, Percy, do not trust the gifts...**

Annabeth grimaced.

While everyone look curious.

 **Her voice faded.**

 **"Gifts?" I asked. "What gifts? Wait!"**

 **She made one more attempt to speak, but the sound was gone. Her image melted away. If it was my mother, I had lost her again.**

 **I felt like drowning myself. The only problem: I was immune to drowning.**

Frank and Hazel shuddered.

Poseidon frowned.

"What wrong?"

"Oh nothing, it reminded me of Ella's prophecy that said 'F _alling from ice, the son of Neptune shall drown_ ' we still haven't figured it out yet." Frank said.

Poseidon paled. _No...My son is going to drown?_

 **Your father believes in you, she had said.**

 **She'd also called me brave ... unless she was talking to the catfish.**

Everyone chuckled hysterically.

 **I waded toward Riptide and grabbed it by the hilt. The Chimera might still be up there with its snaky, fat mother, waiting to finish me off. At the very least, the mortal police would be arriving, trying to figure out who had blown a hole in the Arch. If they found me, they'd have some questions.**

 **I capped my sword, stuck the ballpoint pen in my pocket. "Thank you, Father," I said again to the dark water.**

"Dramatic." Zeus snickered.

"Really? All children of yours is dramatic." Poseidon rolled his eyes.

"Ooh burn!" Hermes grinned.

 **Then I kicked up through the muck and swam for the surface.**

 **I came ashore next to a floating McDonald's.**

 **A block away, every emergency vehicle in St. Louis was surrounding the Arch. Police helicopters circled overhead. The crowd of onlookers reminded me of Times Square on New Year's Eve.**

 **A little girl said, "Mama! That boy walked out of the river."**

 **"That's nice, dear," her mother said, craning her neck to watch the ambulances.**

 **"But he's dry!"**

 **"That's nice, dear."**

 **A news lady was talking for the camera: "Probably not a terrorist attack, we're told, but it's still very early in the investigation. The damage, as you can see, is very serious. We're trying to get to some of the survivors, to question them about eyewitness reports of someone falling from the Arch."**

"And we still haven't found who fall from the Arch. Even though it been fifteen years." Leo snickered.

"Mortals can be dumb sometimes."

"True."

 **Survivors. I felt a surge of relief. Maybe the park ranger and that family made it out safely. I hoped Annabeth and Grover were okay.**

 **I tried to push through the crowd to see what was going on inside the police line.**

 **"... an adolescent boy," another reporter was saying. "Channel Five has learned that surveillance cameras show an adolescent boy going wild on the observation deck, somehow setting off this freak explosion. Hard to believe, John, but that's what we're hearing. Again, no confirmed fatalities ..."**

 **I backed away, trying to keep my head down. I had to go a long way around the police perimeter. Uniformed officers and news reporters were everywhere.**

 **I'd almost lost hope of ever finding Annabeth and Grover when a familiar voice bleated, "Perrr-cy!"**

 **I turned and got tackled by Grover's bear hug—or goat hug. He said, "We thought you'd gone to Hades the hard way!"**

"What!? Not in the hard way! It easy!"

"Really? Do you know what death really is?"

"..."

"See."

"Shut up."

 **Annabeth stood behind him, trying to look angry, but even she seemed relieved to see me. "We can't leave you alone for five minutes! What happened?"**

 **"I sort of fell."**

 **"Percy! Six hundred and thirty feet?"**

Thalia winced and paled.

 **Behind us, a cop shouted, "Gangway!" The crowd parted, and a couple of paramedics hustled out, rolling a woman on a stretcher. I recognized her immediately as the mother of the little boy who'd been on the observation deck. She was saying, "And then this huge dog, this huge fire-breathing Chihuahua—"**

 **"Okay, ma'am," the paramedic said. "Just calm down. Your family is fine. The medication is starting to kick in."**

 **"I'm not crazy! This boy jumped out of the hole and the monster disappeared." Then she saw me. "There he is! That's the boy!"**

Poseidon groaned. _Why this have to be my son?_

 **I turned quickly and pulled Annabeth and Grover after me. We disappeared into the crowd.**

 **"What's going on?" Annabeth demanded. "Was she talking about the Chihuahua on the elevator?"**

 **I told them the whole story of the Chimera, Echidna, my high-dive act, and the underwater lady's message.**

 **"Whoa," said Grover. "We've got to get you to Santa Monica! You can't ignore a summons from your dad."**

 **Before Annabeth could respond, we passed another reporter doing a news break, and I almost froze in my tracks when he said, "Percy Jackson. That's right, Dan. Channel Twelve has learned that the boy who may have caused this explosion fits the description of a young man wanted by authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago. And the boy is believed to be traveling west. For our viewers at home, here is a photo of Percy Jackson."**

 **We ducked around the news van and slipped into an alley.**

 **"First things first," I told Grover. "We've got to get out of town!"**

"Oh please do."

 **Somehow, we made it back to the Amtrak station without getting spotted. We got on board the train just before it pulled out for Denver. The train trundled west as darkness fell, police lights still pulsing against the St. Louis skyline behind us.**

"Finished." Leo said.

"Who want to read next?" Hermes asked.

"Me." Clarisse said.

Leo handed over the book to daughter of Ares.

" **A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers**." Clarisse read out loud.


	16. A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

 _Sorry for a long time update! I'm very focused on my schoolwork (which isn't fun) these days. Plus, I'm really trying to focus on my work for school, I really couldn't afford to get an F or a D. Damned the ADHD..._

Godess Bubbles: Oh, I will! As soon as I finish the work, and let see if I could have any time to write! :)

Death Fury: Aww! Thank you! Please please continue with your loyal support~!

Guest: I know, I know that Jason and the other Demigods are OOC (out of character) even some of the Gods. First of all, I really love the 'overprotective' Poseidon. (Because, I read so much of 'Daddy Poseidon' fanfiction! ( ˃̶͈̀ロ˂̶͈́)੭ꠥ⁾⁾ And only God knows why!) Second of all, I really like the anxious Zeus. (Because, they're isn't a lot of fanfiction that Zeus is petrified of Poseidon even other Gods and Athena and Ares as well. I just like that Poseidon show Drama King (AKA Zeus) who is the boss! I know, that is weird, but I likes it. I'm sorry if I offended you!) Third of all, Jason and the others Demigods are OOC (out of character) as well. Here is my two answers. One is, I'm not Rick Riordan, so I could never get the personality same. Two is: The Demigods and the Olympians even Percy Jackson, are different from the original story. Because, this _is_ my book (or fanfiction if you called it) so I could do them differently and this writing is from my heart and my feelings. Only God knows why! Now, do you know why and my reason that Jason and the Demigods and some of the Olympians!

Please reviews again soon~! That'll make me feel better and write faster~!

* * *

Leo raised his eyebrows. "I thought that Gods are forbidden to see their own children and Demigods?"

Annabeth sighed. "Valdez...Tell me again, have you been paying attention for the last _ten_ years that I've been teaching _you_." Annabeth smiled kindly, but didn't let her fool you. She is dangerously pissed.

Leo gulped and smile nervously.

"*cough* I...I did?" Leo lied nervously.

"W-wait! Please—don't! GAH! OW! MOTHER-!#%!?"

Five minutes after Annabeth managed to beaten Leo up.

"This is a pay back, bastard."

Leo nodded quickly and hopefully that he won't get beaten _again._

Everyone stared at Annabeth an 'anime blank stare'.

 **The next afternoon, June 14, seven days before the solstice, our train rolled into Denver. We hadn't eaten since the night before in the dining car, somewhere in Kansas.**

Jason and Piper scowled at the word 'Kansas'.

 **We hadn't taken a shower since Half-Blood Hill, and I was sure that was obvious.**

Aphrodite and her children wrinkled their nose in disgust.

"That's disgusting!"

 **"Let's try to contact Chiron," Annabeth said. "I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit."**

"But, we can't use phone, right?" Jason asked with a confusion face.

 **"We can't use phones, right?"**

"Oh great..."

 **"I'm not talking about phones."**

"What?"

 **We wandered through downtown for about half an hour, though I wasn't sure what Annabeth was looking for. The air was dry and hot, which felt weird after the humidity of St. Louis. Everywhere we turned, the Rocky Mountains seemed to be staring at me, like a tidal wave about to crash into the city.**

"Does he always compares waves from a city or something?" Demeter asked.

The Child of the Big Three groaned.

" _Always_." Thalia muttered. "No matter what we tried. We tried to make him to shut up by using Lady Hecate's magic. But of course it failed...We don't give a damn about it, but Kelp Head is too annoying for a Child of the Big Three."

"HEY!" Poseidon cried and look deadly offended.

"That sound just like Poseidon." Zeus snorted.

"SHUT UP YOU LIGHTNING FART HEAD!"

"Enough Poseidon.." Hestia said quietly.

Zeus become pissed.

"YOU FREAKING FART BUTTHOLE OCEAN'S BEARD!"

"Zeus that's enough!" Hestia said quietly and clearly losing her patience.

"YOU RAINBOW FART HEAD!"

"POSEIDON!" Hestia's voice is getting louder, but sadly the brothers is being an idiot.

"YOU—"

"ENOUGH!" Hestia roared and the hearth went mad and you could hear the Mortal's screeching in fear/ horror and the fire truck's sound and the ambulance's sound.

Everyone even Chaos (who is up in the Void and secretly watching the Olympians because she is interested on a hero who defeated her strongest children and strongest grandchildren. She got so many dead heroes and her children is glad that they got defeated by a hero in the end.) got scared of Hestia.

* * *

 _Flashback on the day when the Mother of the Earth get defeated_

* * *

Percy raise his cursed sword that has been created by a legendary huntress who stand by Lady Artemis for thousands of years, Zoe Nightshade.

"You cannot defeat me, I have already awakened from your _Blood of Olympus_! I've risen to rule once again! But first...I must destroy you for my son, Kronos!" Gaea roared.

Percy snarled.

"I don't think that'll happen anytime soon, Dirt Face!" Percy yelled and raised his sword up in the air. "For Olympus!" As he charged, he threw up his forearms and a shield leather brace that wraps around the Percy's forearm. The shield is polished bronze, has the width of four feet, and inside of the shield is coated in a soft leather.

Gaea smirked evilly. "You dare have challenge me, young hero. You got some guts to do that! I haven't been defeated yet in many millenniums, not since those cursed Olympians! Furthermore...I'm one of the strongest primordial in a history...I would like to see your strength to defend your precious home.." Gaea purred.

Percy entered rage-mode.

"Don't you dare, destroy my home! I will destroy you before you touch her!" Percy roared as he attacked her, he summoned an hurricane with a powerful storm alongside a 9.0 earthquake which obey his will.

Gaea look at Percy in shock and then grinned.

"I see...You were the one after all. Just like the prophecy said. Someone is destined to destroy me." She muttered to herself. "It was you after all."

Gaea summoned an powerful vine trap, whenever it touched you, you died slowly, but painfully. If you cut it, it regrow quickly.

"Perseus, I won't allowed you to put me to endless sleep! Not even before I destroy the Olympians!" Gaea bellowed and using her vine trap to attacked him.

Percy smirked.

"You are missing one thing, Dirt Face." Percy smirked.

Gaea raise her eyebrows in confusion.

"I am missing something?" Gaea said suspiciously, but in her mind she was pretty sure that she isn't missing something. After all she planned for this for millennia.

Percy used his cryokinesis powers and suddenly the vine trap becoming ice and frozen.

Gaea gasped in disbelief and she started to splutter.

"Cursed Khione and Poseidon!" Gaea cursed and lower her guard.

Percy smirked and knowing that he managed to tricked Gaea.

Percy threw his cursed sword at Gaea's weak spot.

Gaea look at her chest and she couldn't believed it. His cursed sword is in her weak spot.

Gaea went half furious and half disbelief. She look at Percy in shock.

"How?!" Gaea demanded.

Percy smirked.

"Just a hunch, Dirt Face."

Gaea went mad and pointed at him and talk in Ancient Greek.

" ** _You have won...But don't think your done yet. I will take you to darkest part in the Void, you will suffer for eternity, I'll make you immortal if you fade you can't. I possess some of my father's power. You will feel my anathema, beware Perseus Achilles Jackson, beware. I'm also glad that I have been defeated by a legendary hero_**..." Gaea vanished from ground and went to endless sleep.

Percy's face look horrified and soon his body started to vanished to the Void.

Percy look at his cursed sword and then kneeled with a cursed sword thrust into the ground with his eyes closed with his tears rolling from his cheek.

"I'm going to miss you guys...Even you _Wise Girl_..." He whispered softly and smiled weakly.

As his body vanished from Earth to the Void.

He knew that Riptide won't reappear again at the Void.

The Riptide won't remove from the ground, only who is worthy for it.

And that was the last time that they have ever seen Percy Jackson..

* * *

Flashback ends

* * *

 **Finally we found an empty do-it-yourself car wash. We veered toward the stall farthest from the street, keeping our eyes open for patrol cars. We were three adolescents hanging out at a car wash without a car; any cop worth his doughnuts would figure we were up to no good.**

 **"What exactly are we doing?" I asked, as Grover took out the spray gun.**

 **"It's seventy-five cents," he grumbled. "I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?"**

 **"Don't look at me," she said. "The dining car wiped me out."**

 **I fished out my last bit of change and passed Grover a quarter, which left me two nickels and one drachma from Medusa's place.**

 **"Excellent," Grover said. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."**

 **"What are you talking about?"**

 **He fed in the quarters and set the knob to FINE MIST. "I-M'ing."**

The Romans look confused.

"Instant messaging?" Jason asked.

 **"Instant messaging?"**

"YOU GOTTA TO BE KIDDING ME!" Jason complained.

Everyone snickered expect for Zeus.

 **"Iris-messaging," Annabeth corrected. "The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."**

"LUCKILY BASTARDS!"

 **"You summon the goddess with a spray gun?"**

Olympians and Demigods snickered.

"You are luckily that Iris isn't here!" Hermes complained and rubbed his cheek while remembering that time when he insulted her.

Olympians laughed hysterically at that memory.

"What?" Connor asked.

"Oh! About fifteen years ago, he insulted Iris. And then, he got slapped so hard that he could cry for his mama! He won't talk about her ever since." Poseidon snickered.

Hermes look at Poseidon in betrayed.

"HEY! YOU PROMISED!"

"But, you didn't make me swear on the River Styx!"

"POSEIDON YOU FUCKING SHITASS BASTARD!"

 **Grover pointed the nozzle in the air and water hissed out in a thick white mist. "Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow."**

 **Sure enough, late afternoon light filtered through the vapor and broke into colors.**

 **Annabeth held her palm out to me. "Drachma, please."**

 **I handed it over.**

 **She raised the coin over her head. "O goddess, accept our offering."**

 **She threw the drachma into the rainbow. It disappeared in a golden shimmer.**

 **"Half-Blood Hill," Annabeth requested.**

 **For a moment, nothing happened.**

 **Then I was looking through the mist at strawberry fields, and the Long Island Sound in the distance.**

Jason look at the Greek in envy. _Luckily bastards._

 **We seemed to be on the porch of the Big House. Standing with his back to us at the railing was a sandy-haired guy in shorts and an orange tank top. He was holding a bronze sword and seemed to be staring intently at something down in the meadow.**

 **"Luke!" I called.**

Connor and Travis scowled.

 **He turned, eyes wide. I could swear he was standing three feet in front of me through a screen of mist, except I could only see the part of him that appeared in the rainbow.**

 **"Percy!" His scarred face broke into a grin. "Is that Annabeth, too? Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?"**

"DO THEY LOOK OKAY?!" Athena roared.

 **"We're ... uh ... fine," Annabeth stammered. She was madly straightening her dirty T-shirt, trying to comb the loose hair out of her face. "We thought—Chiron—I mean—"**

 **"He's down at the cabins." Luke's smile faded. "We're having some issues with the campers. Listen, is everything cool with you? Is Grover all right?"**

 **"I'm right here," Grover called. He held the nozzle out to one side and stepped into Luke's line of vision. "What kind of issues?"**

 **Just then a big Lincoln Continental pulled into the car wash with its stereo turned to maximum hip-hop. As the car slid into the next stall, the bass from the subwoofers vibrated so much, it shook the pavement.**

 **"Chiron had to—what's that noise?" Luke yelled.**

 **"I'll take care of it.'" Annabeth yelled back, looking very relieved to have an excuse to get out of sight.**

The Demigods snickered.

 **"Grover, come on!**

 **"What?" Grover said. "But—"**

 **"Give Percy the nozzle and come on!" she ordered.**

 **Grover muttered something about girls being harder to understand than the Oracle at Delphi, then he handed me the spray gun and followed Annabeth.**

Every female in this room glared at the book.

 **I readjusted the hose so I could keep the rainbow going and still see Luke.**

 **"Chiron had to break up a fight," Luke shouted to me over the music. "Things are pretty tense here, Percy. Word leaked out about the Zeus—Poseidon standoff. We're still not sure how—probably the same scumbag who summoned the hellhound. Now the campers are starting to take sides. It's shaping up like the Trojan War all over again. Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo are backing Poseidon, more or less. Athena is backing Zeus."**

Zeus glared at Aphrodite and Apollo.

 **I shuddered to think that Clarisse's cabin would ever be on my dad's side for anything. In the next stall, I heard Annabeth and some guy arguing with each other, then the music's volume decreased drastically.**

 **"So what's your status?" Luke asked me. "Chiron will be sorry he missed you."**

 **I told him pretty much everything, including my dreams. It felt so good to see him, to feel like I was back at camp even for a few minutes, that I didn't realize how long I had talked until the beeper went off on the spray machine, and I realized I only had one more minute before the water shut off.**

 **"I wish I could be there," Luke told me. "We can't help much from here, I'm afraid, but listen ... it had to be Hades who took the master bolt.**

"WHY THE FUCK THAT PEOPLE KEPT ACCUSING ME!? WHY!?" Hades whined.

"Because, you stole my Persephone!" Demeter argued back.

"THAT WAS A MILLENNIA YEARS AGO! WHY YOU DON'T GIVE IT UP WOMAN!"

"YOU FREAKING KIDNAPPED HER!"

"SO?! WHAT THE POINT?!"

"YOU. ARE. A. MOTHERFUCKING. LORD OF THE DEAD! WHAT A POSSIBLY COULD YOU DO?!"

"...You got the point..."

"Understatement of the century..." Hermes whispered to Apollo.

 _No shit Sherlock,_ Apollo thought.

 **He was there at Olympus at the winter solstice. I was chaperoning a field trip and we saw him."**

 **"But Chiron said the gods can't take each other's magic items directly."**

 **"That's true," Luke said, looking troubled. "Still ... Hades has the helm of darkness. How could anybody else sneak into the throne room and steal the master bolt? You'd have to be invisible."**

Annabeth look offended.

 **We were both silent, until Luke seemed to realize what he'd said.**

 **"Oh, hey," he protested. "I didn't mean Annabeth. She and I have known each other forever. She would never ... I mean, she's like a little sister to me."**

 **I wondered if Annabeth would like that description.**

"I do." Annabeth deadpanned.

 **In the stall next to us, the music stopped completely. A man screamed in terror, car doors slammed, and the Lincoln peeled out of the car wash.**

At this point everyone stared at Annabeth.

 **"You'd better go see what that was," Luke said. "Listen, are you wearing the flying shoes? I'll feel better if I know they've done you some good."**

 **"Oh ... uh, yeah!" I tried not to sound like a guilty liar. "Yeah, they've come in handy."**

"He sucks at lying." Hermes stated.

"HEY! HIS FATAL FLAW IS LOYALTY! WHATCHA EXPECT!?" Annabeth screamed.

Every Olympians stare at Annabeth in shock/ horror.

 **"Really?" He grinned. "They fit and everything?"**

 **The water shut off. The mist started to evaporate.**

 **"Well, take care of yourself out there in Denver," Luke called, his voice getting fainter. "And tell Grover it'll be better this time! Nobody will get turned into a pine tree if he just—"**

"Luke..." Thalia facepalmed.

 **But the mist was gone, and Luke's image faded to nothing. I was alone in a wet, empty car wash stall.**

 **Annabeth and Grover came around the corner, laughing, but stopped when they saw my face. Annabeth's smile faded. "What happened, Percy? What did Luke say?"**

 **"Not much," I lied, my stomach feeling as empty as a Big Three cabin.**

The Children of the Big Three' eye widened. _So that must've big._

 **"Come on, let's find some dinner."**

 **A few minutes later, we were sitting at a booth in a gleaming chrome diner. All around us, families were eating burgers and drinking malts and sodas.**

 **Finally the waitress came over. She raised her eyebrow skeptically. "Well?"**

 **I said, "We, um, want to order dinner."**

 **"You kids have money to pay for it?"**

 **Grover's lower lip quivered. I was afraid he would start bleating, or worse, start eating the linoleum. Annabeth looked ready to pass out from hunger.**

 **I was trying to think up a sob story for the waitress when a rumble shook the whole building; a motorcycle the size of a baby elephant had pulled up to the curb.**

Athena figured who is it. _Ares._

 **All conversation in the diner stopped. The motorcycle's headlight glared red. Its gas tank had flames painted on it, and a shotgun holster riveted to either side, complete with shotguns. The seat was leather—but leather that looked like ... well, Caucasian human skin.**

"ARES!" Half of the room yelled.

 **The guy on the bike would've made pro wrestlers run for Mama.**

"Definitely Ares.." Hephaestus muttered.

 **He was dressed in a red muscle shirt and black jeans and a black leather duster, with a hunting knife strapped to his thigh. He wore red wraparound shades, and he had the cruelest, most brutal face I'd ever seen— handsome, I guess, but wicked—with an oily black crew cut and cheeks that were scarred from many, many fights. The weird thing was, I felt like I'd seen his face somewhere before.**

 **As he walked into the diner, a hot, dry wind blew through the place. All the people rose, as if they were hypnotized, but the biker waved his hand dismissively and they all sat down again. Everybody went back to their conversations. The waitress blinked, as if somebody had just pressed the rewind button on her brain. She asked us again, "You kids have money to pay for it?"**

 **The biker said, "It's on me." He slid into our booth, which was way too small for him, and crowded Annabeth against the window.**

 **He looked up at the waitress, who was gaping at him, and said, "Are you still here?"**

 **He pointed at her, and she stiffened. She turned as if she'd been spun around, then marched back toward the kitchen.**

 **The biker looked at me. I couldn't see his eyes behind the red shades, but bad feelings started boiling in my stomach. Anger, resentment, bitterness. I wanted to hit a wall. I wanted to pick a fight with somebody. Who did this guy think he was?**

 **He gave me a wicked grin. "So you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?"**

"Honestly to Gods. What up with these nicknames?" Poseidon muttered.

 **I should've been surprised, or scared, but instead I felt like I was looking at my stepdad, Gabe.**

"That bastard...I'll make sure that he will go to Tartarus..." Poseidon growled.

 **I wanted to rip this guy's head off. "What's it to you?"**

 **Annabeth's eyes flashed me a warning. "Percy, this is—"**

 **The biker raised his hand.**

 **"S'okay," he said. "I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"**

 **Then it struck me why this guy looked familiar. He had the same vicious sneer as some of the kids at Camp Half-Blood, the ones from cabin five.**

 **"You're Clarisse's dad," I said. "Ares, god of war."**

"Um...That is unexpected." Clarisse said blankly.

 **Ares grinned and took off his shades. Where his eyes should've been, there was only fire, empty sockets glowing with miniature nuclear explosions. "That's right, punk. I heard you broke Clarisse's spear."**

 **"She was asking for it."**

 **"Probably. That's cool. I don't fight my kids' fights, you know? What I'm here for—I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you."**

Clarisse give her dad WTF look.

 **The waitress came back with heaping trays of food—cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, and chocolate shakes.**

 **Ares handed her a few gold drachmas.**

 **She looked nervously at the coins. "But, these aren't..."**

 **Ares pulled out his huge knife and started cleaning his fingernails. "Problem, sweetheart?"**

Everyone females on the Olympians room growled.

But Aphrodite is the worst. _Hm...I should break him up..Look at Hephaestus..._

Aphrodite stared at Hephaestus like a ethereal prince.

Hephaestus look uncomfortable all the sudden, feeling like someone thinking about him with some perverted thought.

 **The waitress swallowed, then left with the gold.**

 **"You can't do that," I told Ares. "You can't just threaten people with a knife."**

"Yeah, Ares." Hera scowled.

Aphrodite went mad.

"I, Aphrodite eternally declare a divorce. I proclaim to be Hephaestus wife for the rest of my immortal life!" Aphrodite declared.

Everyone look at Aphrodite in shock.

Hephaestus' beamed and his face and his body changed into a handsome man unlike people have ever seen.

 **Ares laughed. "Are you kidding? I love this country. Best place since Sparta. Don't you carry a weapon, punk? You should. Dangerous world out there. Which brings me to my proposition. I need you to do me a favor."**

 **"What favor could I do for a god?"**

 **"Something a god doesn't have time to do himself. It's nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little ... date with my girlfriend.**

"Not anymore Ares...No Are-pig!" Aphrodite screamed.

 **We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me."**

"HE IS NOT A DOG BASTARD!" Poseidon growled.

 **"Why don't you go back and get it yourself?"**

 **The fire in his eye sockets glowed a little hotter.**

 **"Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don't feel like it. A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?"**

"HE IS NOT A COWARD YOU BASTARD!" Annabeth screamed.

 **He leaned forward. "Or maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you."**

Poseidon entered rage-mode.

"THAT SON OF BITCH! I CURSES HIM! I CURSES HIM! HE WILL SENT TO THE OCEAN'S FLOOR FOR A MILLENNIA!" Poseidon bellowed.

* * *

Down at the Mortal's word

* * *

"What the—" Ares yelped.

"No! No! GAAAAAAAAAH! NOOOOOO!"

"WHYYYY WHY THE FUCK!?"

* * *

At the Olympus' room

* * *

 **I wanted to punch this guy, but somehow, I knew he was waiting for that. Ares's power was causing my anger. He'd love it if I attacked. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction.**

 **"We're not interested," I said. "We've already got a quest."**

 **Ares's fiery eyes made me see things I didn't want to see—blood and smoke and corpses on the battlefield. "I know all about your quest, punk. When that item was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally. If I couldn't sniff out a weapon that powerful ..." He licked his lips, as if the very thought of the master bolt made him hungry. "Well ... if I couldn't find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I'm the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath."**

Hades look offended. "I agreed on Poseidon on this one. WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THESE DAMNED NICKNAMES?!"

 **"You told him Hades stole the bolt?"**

"Bastard."

 **"Sure. Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognized it immediately. In a way, you got me to thank for your little quest."**

 **"Thanks," I grumbled.**

 **"Hey, I'm a generous guy.**

"I curse him. You will not see his own reflection ever again and he'll remain ugly until his punishment is over." Aphrodite said angrily.

 **Just do my little job, and I'll help you on your way. I'll arrange a ride west for you and your friends."**

 **"We're doing fine on our own."**

 **"Yeah, right. No money. No wheels. No clue what you're up against. Help me out, and maybe I'll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mom."**

"Oh great.." Athena facepalmed knowing what will happen.

 **"My mom?"**

 **He grinned. "That got your attention. The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride."**

 **"What interrupted your date?" I asked. "Something scare you off?"**

 **Ares bared his teeth, but I'd seen his threatening look before on Clarisse. There was something false about it, almost like he was nervous.**

 **"You're lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They're not as forgiving of rudeness as I am. I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me."**

"Dramatic." Poseidon said.

 **After that I must have fainted, or fallen into a trance, because when I opened my eyes again, Ares was gone. I might've thought the conversation had been a dream, but Annabeth and Grover's expressions told me otherwise.**

 **"Not good," Grover said. "Ares sought you out, Percy. This is not good."**

 **I stared out the window. The motorcycle had disappeared.**

 **Did Ares really know something about my mom, or was he just playing with me? Now that he was gone, all the anger had drained out of me. I realized Ares must love to mess with people's emotions. That was his power—cranking up the passions so badly, they clouded your ability to think.**

 **"It's probably some kind of trick," I said. "Forget Ares. Let's just go."**

"I should've listen to him." Annabeth said bitterly.

 **"We can't," Annabeth said. "Look, I hate Ares as much as anybody, but you don't ignore the gods unless you want serious bad fortune. He wasn't kidding about turning you into a rodent."**

 **I looked down at my cheeseburger, which suddenly didn't seem so appetizing. "Why does he need us?"**

 **"Maybe it's a problem that requires brains," Annabeth said. "Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes."**

Athena nodded in approve.

 **"But this water park ... he acted almost scared. What would make a war god run away like that?"**

 **Annabeth and Grover glanced nervously at each other.**

 **Annabeth said, "I'm afraid we'll have to find out."**

 **The sun was sinking behind the mountains by the time we found the water park. Judging from the sign, it once had been called WATERLAND, but now some of the letters were smashed out, so it read.**

 **The main gate was padlocked and topped with barbed wire. Inside, huge dry waterslides and tubes and pipes curled everywhere, leading to empty pools. Old tickets and advertisements fluttered around the asphalt. With night coming on, the place looked sad and creepy.**

 **"If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date," I said, staring up at the barbed wire, "I'd hate to see what she looks like."**

"Hey!"

 **"Percy," Annabeth warned. "Be more respectful."**

 **"Why? I thought you hated Ares."**

 **"He's still a god. And his girlfriend is very temperamental."**

Aphrodite pouted knowing it true.

 **"You don't want to insult her looks," Grover added.**

 **"Who is she? Echidna?"**

"HEY YOU BASTARD!"

 **"No, Aphrodite," Grover said, a little dreamily. "Goddess of love."**

 **"I thought she was married to somebody," I said. "Hephaestus."**

"Yup."

 **"What's your point?" he asked.**

 **"Oh." I suddenly felt the need to change the subject. "So how do we get in?"**

 **"Maia!" Grover's shoes sprouted wings.**

 **He flew over the fence, did an unintended somersault in midair, then stumbled to a landing on the opposite side. He dusted off his jeans, as if he'd planned the whole thing. "You guys coming?"**

 **Annabeth and I had to climb the old-fashioned way, holding down the barbed wire for each other as we crawled over the top.**

 **The shadows grew long as we walked through the park, checking out the attractions. There was Ankle Biter Island, Head Over Wedgie, and Dude, Where's My Swimsuit?**

 **No monsters came to get us. Nothing made the slightest noise.**

 **We found a souvenir shop that had been left open. Merchandise still lined the shelves: snow globes, pencils, postcards, and racks of—**

 **"Clothes," Annabeth said. "Fresh clothes."**

 **"Yeah," I said. "But you can't just—"**

 **"Watch me."**

"Oooooh! Annie sassy talk! Buuurn!" Thalia snickered.

"SHUT UP!"

 **She snatched an entire row of stuff of the racks and disappeared into the changing room. A few minutes later she came out in Waterland flower-print shorts, a big red Waterland T-shirt, and commemorative Waterland surf shoes. A Waterland backpack was slung over her shoulder, obviously stuffed with more goodies.**

 **"What the heck." Grover shrugged. Soon, all three of us were decked out like walking advertisements for the defunct theme park.**

 **We continued searching for the Tunnel of Love. I got the feeling that the whole park was holding its breath. "So Ares and Aphrodite," I said, to keep my mind off the growing dark, "they have a thing going?"**

 **"That's old gossip, Percy," Annabeth told me. "Three-thousand-year-old gossip."**

"Now it just ended." Hermes smirked.

 **"What about Aphrodite's husband?"**

 **"Well, you know," she said. "Hephaestus. The blacksmith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Zeus. So he isn't exactly handsome.**

"He is now." Aphrodite squealed.

Hephaestus blushed furiously.

 **Clever with his hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, you know?"**

 **"She likes bikers."**

Everyone chuckled.

 **"Whatever."**

 **"Hephaestus knows?"**

 **"Oh sure," Annabeth said. "He caught them together once. I mean, literally caught them, in a golden net, and invited all the gods to come and laugh at them. Hephaestus is always trying to embarrass them. That's why they meet in out-of-the-way places, like..."**

 **She stopped, looking straight ahead. "Like that."**

 **In front of us was an empty pool that would've been awesome for skateboarding. It was at least fifty yards across and shaped like a bowl.**

 **Around the rim, a dozen bronze statues of Cupid stood guard with wings spread and bows ready to fire. On the opposite side from us, a tunnel opened up, probably where the water flowed into when the pool was full. The sign above it read, THRILL RIDE O' LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS' TUNNEL OF LOVE!**

 **Grover crept toward the edge. "Guys, look."**

 **Marooned at the bottom of the pool was a pink-and-white two-seater boat with a canopy over the top and little hearts painted all over it. In the left seat, glinting in the fading light, was Ares's shield, a polished circle of bronze.**

 **"This is too easy," I said. "So we just walk down there and get it?"**

 **Annabeth ran her fingers along the base of the nearest Cupid statue.**

 **"There's a Greek letter carved here," she said. "Eta. I wonder ..."**

Everyone's eyes widen.

 **"Grover," I said, "you smell any monsters?"**

 **He sniffed the wind. "Nothing."**

 **"Nothing—like, in-the-Arch-and-you-didn't-smell-Echidna nothing, or really nothing?"**

"That harsh." Jason said.

 **Grover looked hurt. "I told you, that was underground."**

 **"Okay, I'm sorry." I took a deep breath. "I'm going down there."**

 **"I'll go with you." Grover didn't sound too enthusiastic, but I got the feeling he was trying to make up for what had happened in St. Louis.**

 **"No," I told him. "I want you to stay up top with the flying shoes. You're the Red Baron, a flying ace, remember? I'll be counting on you for backup, in case something goes wrong."**

 **Grover puffed up his chest a little. "Sure. But what could go wrong?"**

 **"I don't know. Just a feeling. Annabeth, come with me—"**

 **"Are you kidding?" She looked at me as if I'd just dropped from the moon. Her cheeks were bright red.**

 **"What's the problem now?" I demanded.**

"I love him." Hermes chuckled.

Everyone stared at Hermes in shock.

"I mean, I like his taste. I'm not a gay you know."

 **"Me, go with you to the ... the 'Thrill Ride of Love'? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?"**

"Really Annie?"

 **"Who's going to see you?" But my face was burning now, too. Leave it to a girl to make everything complicated.**

"Hey!" Every females in this room protected.

 **"Fine," I told her. "I'll do it myself." But when I started down the side of the pool, she followed me, muttering about how boys always messed things up.**

Artemis nodded in a agreement.

 **We reached the boat. The shield was propped on one seat, and next to it was a lady's silk scarf. I tried to imagine Ares and Aphrodite here, a couple of gods meeting in a junked-out amusement-park ride. Why? Then I noticed something I hadn't seen from up top: mirrors all the way around the rim of the pool, facing this spot. We could see ourselves no matter which direction we looked. That must be it. While Ares and Aphrodite were smooching with each other they could look at their favorite people: themselves.**

 **I picked up the scarf. It shimmered pink, and the perfume was indescribable—rose, or mountain laurel. Something good. I smiled, a little dreamy, and was about to rub the scarf against my cheek when Annabeth ripped it out of my hand and stuffed it in her pocket. "Oh, no you don't. Stay away from that love magic."**

"Oooh! Jealous Annie!" Connor snickered.

 _Smack._

"Ow! What is that for?"

"NO. One called me Annie expect for Thalia." Annabeth give a or-I-kill-you death glare.

Connor chuckled nervously.

 **"What?"**

 **"Just get the shield, Seaweed Brain, and let's get out of here."**

 **The moment I touched the shield, I knew we were in trouble. My hand broke through something that had been connecting it to the dashboard. A cobweb, I thought, but then I looked at a strand of it on my palm and saw it was some kind of metal filament, so fine it was almost invisible. A trip wire.**

 **"Wait," Annabeth said.**

 **"Too late."**

"Fuck." Poseidon cursed.

 **"There's another Greek letter on the side of the boat, another Eta. This is a trap."**

 **Noise erupted all around us, of a million gears grinding, as if the whole pool were turning into one giant machine.**

 **Grover yelled, "Guys!"**

 **Up on the rim, the Cupid statues were drawing their bows into firing position. Before I could suggest taking cover, they shot, but not at us. They fired at each other, across the rim of the pool. Silky cables trailed from the arrows, arcing over the pool and anchoring where they landed to form a huge golden asterisk. Then smaller metallic threads started weaving together magically between the main strands, making a net.**

 **"We have to get out," I said.**

 **"Duh!" Annabeth said.**

"That is a worst comment ever heard. 'Duh' on a life-or-death station." Thalia stared.

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

 **I grabbed the shield and we ran, but going up the slope of the pool was not as easy as going down.**

 **"Come on!" Grover shouted.**

 **He was trying to hold open a section of the net for us, but wherever he touched it, the golden threads started to wrap around his hands.**

 **The Cupids' heads popped open. Out came video cameras. Spotlights rose up all around the pool, blinding us with illumination, and a loudspeaker voice boomed: "Live to Olympus in one minute ... Fifty-nine seconds, fifty-eight ..."**

"Oh no."

 **"Hephaestus!" Annabeth screamed. "I'm so stupid.' Eta is H.' He made this trap to catch his wife with Ares. Now we're going to be broadcast live to Olympus and look like absolute fools!"**

 **We'd almost made it to the rim when the row of mirrors opened like hatches and thousands of tiny metallic ... things poured out.**

 **Annabeth screamed.**

 **It was an army of wind-up creepy-crawlies: bronze-gear bodies, spindly legs, little pincer mouths, all scuttling toward us in a wave of clacking, whirring metal.**

 **"Spiders!" Annabeth said. "Sp—sp—aaaah!"**

Everyone look at Annabeth in a pity.

 **I'd never seen her like this before. She fell backward in terror and almost got overwhelmed by the spider robots before I pulled her up and dragged her back toward the boat.**

 **The things were coming out from all around the rim now, millions of them, flooding toward the center of the pool, completely surrounding us. I told myself they probably weren't programmed to kill, just corral us and bite us and make us look stupid. Then again, this was a trap meant for gods. And we weren't gods.**

Poseidon groaned.

 **Annabeth and I climbed into the boat. I started kicking away the spiders as they swarmed aboard. I yelled at Annabeth to help me, but she was too paralyzed to do much more than scream.**

 **"Thirty, twenty-nine," called the loudspeaker.**

 **The spiders started spitting out strands of metal thread, trying to tie us down. The strands were easy enough to break at first, but there were so many of them, and the spiders just kept coming. I kicked one away from Annabeth's leg and its pincers took a chunk out of my new surf shoe.**

 **Grover hovered above the pool in his flying sneakers, trying to pull the net loose, but it wouldn't budge.**

 **Think, I told myself. Think.**

Thalia gasped dramatically.

"HE IS THINKING! HOLY SHIT!"

"Lan—"

"—Shut up old hag."

Hera growled.

 **The Tunnel of Love entrance was under the net. We could use it as an exit, except that it was blocked by a million robot spiders.**

 **"Fifteen, fourteen," the loudspeaker called.**

 **Water, I thought. Where does the ride's water come from?**

 **Then I saw them: huge water pipes behind the mirrors, where the spiders had come from. And up above the net, next to one of the Cupids, a glass-windowed booth that must be the controller's station.**

 **"Grover!" I yelled. "Get into that booth! Find the 'on' switch!"**

 **"But—"**

 **"Do it!" It was a crazy hope, but it was our only chance. The spiders were all over the prow of the boat now. Annabeth was screaming her head off. I had to get us out of there.**

 **Grover was in the controller's booth now, slamming away at the buttons.**

 **"Five, four—"**

 **Grover looked up at me hopelessly, raising his hands. He was letting me know that he'd pushed every button, but still nothing was happening.**

Poseidon groaned.

 **I closed my eyes and thought about waves, rushing water, the Mississippi River. I felt a familiar tug in my gut. I tried to imagine that I was dragging the ocean all the way to Denver.**

 **"Two, one, zero!"**

 **Water exploded out of the pipes. It roared into the pool, sweeping away the spiders. I pulled Annabeth into the seat next to me and fastened her seat belt just as the tidal wave slammed into our boat, over the top, whisking the spiders away and dousing us completely, but not capsizing us. The boat turned, lifted in the flood, and spun in circles around the whirlpool.**

 **The water was full of short-circuiting spiders, some of them smashing against the pool's concrete wall with such force they burst.**

 **Spotlights glared down at us. The Cupid-cams were rolling, live to Olympus.**

Poseidon whimpered.

 **But I could only concentrate on controlling the boat. I willed it to ride the current, to keep away from the wall. Maybe it was my imagination, but the boat seemed to respond. At least, it didn't break into a million pieces. We spun around one last time, the water level now almost high enough to shred us against the metal net. Then the boat's nose turned toward the tunnel and we rocketed through into the darkness.**

 **Annabeth and I held tight, both of us screaming as the boat shot curls and hugged corners and took forty-five-degree plunges past pictures of Romeo and Juliet and a bunch of other Valentine's Day stuff.**

 **Then we were out of the tunnel, the night air whistling through our hair as the boat barreled straight toward the exit.**

 **If the ride had been in working order, we would've sailed off a ramp between the golden Gates of Love and splashed down safely in the exit pool. But there was a problem. The Gates of Love were chained. Two boats that had been washed out of the tunnel before us were now piled against the barricade—one submerged, the other cracked in half.**

 **"Unfasten your seat belt," I yelled to Annabeth.**

"ARE YOU NUTS!?" Athena shrieked.

 **"Are you crazy?"**

 **"Unless you want to get smashed to death." I strapped Ares's shield to my arm. "We're going to have to jump for it." My idea was simple and insane. As the boat struck, we would use its force like a springboard to jump the gate. I'd heard of people surviving car crashes that way, getting thrown thirty or forty feet away from an accident. With luck, we would land in the pool.**

 **Annabeth seemed to understand. She gripped my hand as the gates got closer.**

 **"On my mark," I said.**

 **"No! On my mark!"**

 **"What?"**

 **"Simple physics!" she yelled. "Force times the trajectory angle—"**

"REALLY!?"

 **"Fine.'" I shouted. "On your mark!"**

 **She hesitated ... hesitated ... then yelled, "Now!"**

 **Crack!**

 **Annabeth was right. If we'd jumped when I thought we should've, we would've crashed into the gates. She got us maximum lift.**

Poseidon beamed.

 **Unfortunately, that was a little more than we needed.**

Poseidon's smile vanished.

 **Our boat smashed into the pileup and we were thrown into the air, straight over the gates, over the pool, and down toward solid asphalt.**

 **Something grabbed me from behind.**

 **Annabeth yelled, "Ouch!"**

 **Grover!**

 **In midair, he had grabbed me by the shirt, and Annabeth by the arm, and was trying to pull us out of a crash landing, but Annabeth and I had all the momentum.**

 **"You're too heavy!" Grover said. "We're going down!"**

 **We spiraled toward the ground, Grover doing his best to slow the fall.**

 **We smashed into a photo-board, Grover's head going straight into the hole where tourists would put their faces, pretending to be Noo-Noo the Friendly Whale. Annabeth and I tumbled to the ground, banged up but alive. Ares's shield was still on my arm.**

 **Once we caught our breath, Annabeth and I got Grover out of the photo-board and thanked him for saving our lives. I looked back at the Thrill Ride of Love. The water was subsiding. Our boat had been smashed to pieces against the gates.**

 **A hundred yards away, at the entrance pool, the Cupids were still filming. The statues had swiveled so that their cameras were trained straight on us, the spotlights in our faces.**

 **"Show's over!" I yelled. "Thank you! Good night!"**

"I got to see this." Leo said.

 **The Cupids turned back to their original positions. The lights shut off. The park went quiet and dark again, except for the gentle trickle of water into the Thrill Ride of Love's exit pool. I wondered if Olympus had gone to a commercial break, or if our ratings had been any good.**

 **I hated being teased. I hated being tricked. And I had plenty of experience handling bullies who liked to do that stuff to me. I hefted the shield on my arm and turned to my friends. "We need to have a little talk with Ares."**

"Finished." Clarisse said.

"Who want to read next?" Demeter asked.

"Me." Chris said.

Clarisse handed over the book to her boyfriend.

" **We Take A Zebra to Vegas** " Chris read out loud.


	17. We Take A Zebra to Vegas

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

* * *

Everyone look at the chapter title like WTF.

 **The war god was waiting for us in the diner parking lot.**

 **"Well, well," he said. "You didn't get yourself killed."**

"WHAT?! ARES! YOU BASTARD!" Athena roared. "YOU NEARLY GOT MY DAUGHTER KILLED!"

 **"You knew it was a trap," I said.**

 **Ares gave me a wicked grin. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV."**

"Son of bitch, Ares." Athena growled.

 **I shoved his shield at him. "You're a jerk."**

 **Annabeth and Grover caught their breath.**

"...What..."

"...WHAT?!"

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?! YOU CARE FOR ARES FOR KILLING YOU?!" Athena shrieked.

"Mom..."

 **Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back.**

 **"See that truck over there?" He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."**

 **The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, which I could read only because it was reverse-printed white on black, a good combination for dyslexia: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.**

"IS THIS KINDNESS?! WHAT THE IN THE GAEA'S NAME?! BASTARD MORTALS! BASTARDS!" Artemis roared.

"I will hunt them...I will HAVE their heads. I swear on the River Styx." Artemis said darkly.

Thunder boomed.

Everyone shivered and couldn't help it, but felt a pity on these Mortals that will face Artemis' wrath. Feelin' Artemis' wrath isn't good.

 **I said, "You're kidding."**

 **Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck unlatched. "Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job."**

 **He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to me.**

 **Inside were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuf Oreos.**

The Stolls drooled.

 **I said, "I don't want your lousy—"**

 **"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, giving me his best red-alert warning look. "Thanks a lot."**

 **I gritted my teeth. It was probably a deadly insult to refuse something from a god, but I didn't want anything that Ares had touched. Reluctantly, I slung the backpack over my shoulder. I knew my anger was being caused by the war god's presence, but I was still itching to punch him in the nose. He reminded me of every bully I'd ever faced: Nancy Bobofit, Clarisse, Smelly Gabe, sarcastic teachers—every jerk who'd called me stupid in school or laughed at me when I'd gotten expelled.**

"What kind of teachers called their own students stupid?" Hera exclaimed.

 **I looked back at the diner, which had only a couple of customers now. The waitress who'd served us dinner was watching nervously out the window, like she was afraid Ares might hurt us. She dragged the fry cook out from the kitchen to see. She said something to him. He nodded, held up a little disposable camera and snapped a picture of us.**

 **Great, I thought. We'll make the papers again tomorrow.**

 **I imagined the headline: TWELVE-YEAR-OLD OUTLAW BEATS UP DEFENSELESS BIKER.**

Everyone chuckled.

 **"You owe me one more thing," I told Ares, trying to keep my voice level. "You promised me information about my mother."**

 **"You sure you can handle the news?" He kick-started his motorcycle. "She's not dead."**

 **The ground seemed to spin beneath me. "What do you mean?"**

"Still a Seaweed Brain?" Thalia mocked.

 **"I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept."**

 **"Kept. Why?"**

 **"You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else."**

 **"Nobody's controlling me."**

 **He laughed. "Oh yeah? See you around, kid."**

 **I balled up my fists. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."**

"Oooooh buuuuuuurn!" Hermes snickered.

 **Behind his sunglasses, fire glowed. I felt a hot wind in my hair. "We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back."**

 **He revved his Harley, then roared off down Delancy Street.**

 **Annabeth said, "That was not smart, Percy."**

 **"I don't care."**

 **"You don't want a god as your enemy. Especially not that god."**

"Eh...He already has. Athena...Zeus...Ares...Kronos...Gaea..." As the list goes down, Poseidon nearly died.

 **"Hey, guys," Grover said. "I hate to interrupt, but ..."**

 **He pointed toward the diner. At the register, the last two customers were paying their check, two men in identical black coveralls, with a white logo on their backs that matched the one on the KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL truck.**

"Mortals bastards..." Artemis roared.

 **"If we're taking the zoo express," Grover said, "we need to hurry."**

 **I didn't like it, but we had no better option. Besides, I'd seen enough of Denver.**

 **We ran across the street and climbed in the back of the big rig, closing the doors behind us.**

 **The first thing that hit me was the smell. It was like the world's biggest pan of kitty litter.**

Aphrodite and her children wrinkled their nose in disgust.

 **The trailer was dark inside until I uncapped Anaklusmos. The blade cast a faint bronze light over a very sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals I'd ever beheld: a zebra, a male albino lion, and some weird antelope thing I didn't know the name for.**

 **Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum, like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL!**

"WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT. THE. HELL?!" Artemis screamed.

"I WILL KILL THEM WITH MY BARE HANDS!"

 **Apparently, nobody had wanted to get close enough to the lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his pink eyes and his ribs showed through his white fur.**

 **"This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?"**

 **He probably would've gone right back outside to beat up the truckers with his reed pipes, and I would've helped him, but just then the trucks engine roared to life, the trailer started shaking, and we were forced to sit down or fall down.**

"Boy, I will allowed you to kill them along with me." Artemis said.

Everyone stared at Artemis in shock. It's the first time that Artemis said boy not men.

 **We huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell and the heat and the flies. Grover talked to the animals in a series of goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly. Annabeth was in favor of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but I pointed out it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving. Besides, I had a feeling we might look a lot better to the lion than those turnips.**

 **I found a water jug and refilled their bowls, then used Anaklusmos to drag the mismatched food out of their cages. I gave the meat to the lion and the turnips to the zebra and the antelope.**

 **Grover calmed the antelope down, while Annabeth used her knife to cut the balloon off his horn. She wanted to cut the gum out of the zebra's mane, too, but we decided that would be too risky with the truck bumping around. We told Grover to promise the animals we'd help them more in the morning, then we settled in for night.**

 **Grover curled up on a turnip sack; Annabeth opened our bag of Double Stuf Oreos and nibbled on one halfheartedly; I tried to cheer myself up by concentrating on the fact that we were halfway to Los Angeles. Halfway to our destination. It was only June fourteenth. The solstice wasn't until the twenty-first. We could make it in plenty of time.**

 **On the other hand, I had no idea what to expect next. The gods kept toying with me. At least Hephaestus had the decency to be honest about it—he'd put up cameras and advertised me as entertainment. But even when the cameras weren't rolling, I had a feeling my quest was being watched. I was a source of amusement for the gods.**

Demigods snorted.

"Stalkers."

Olympians blushed furiously.

 **"Hey," Annabeth said, "I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Percy."**

 **"That's okay."**

 **"It's just..." She shuddered. "Spiders."**

 **"Because of the Arachne story," I guessed. "She got turned into a spider for challenging your mom to a weaving contest, right?"**

"Geez. Athena, how much enemies that you made for the past millennia?" Poseidon mocked.

"Oh shut up, Ocean's Beard."

Poseidon look hurt.

 **Annabeth nodded. "Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it'll find me. I hate the creepy little things. Anyway, I owe you."**

 **"We're a team, remember?" I said. "Besides, Grover did the fancy flying."**

Everyone chuckled.

 **I thought he was asleep, but he mumbled from the corner, "I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?"**

"Badass." Frank said in awed.

 **Annabeth and I laughed.**

 **She pulled apart an Oreo, handed me half. "In the Iris message ... did Luke really say nothing?"**

 **I munched my cookie and thought about how to answer. The conversation via rainbow had bothered me all evening. "Luke said you and he go way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree."**

 **In the dim bronze light of the sword blade, it was hard to read their expressions.**

 **Grover let out a mournful bray.**

 **"I should've told you the truth from the beginning." His voice trembled. "I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."**

 **"You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus."**

"Pretty dramatic." Connor said with a crack a grin.

Travis high face Connor and then snickered.

 **He nodded glumly.**

 **"And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp ..." I looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, wasn't it?"**

 **She put down her Oreo, uneaten. "Like you said, Percy, a seven-year-old half-blood wouldn't have made it very far alone. Athena guided me toward help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They'd both run away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them. They were ... amazing monster-fighters, even without training. We traveled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us."**

 **"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," he said, sniffling. "Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Annabeth by themselves. I thought ... I thought I could lead all three of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I got scared on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker ..."**

"Cowards Satyr." Zeus sniffed. _Maybe I should kill him with a taste of my master-bolt._

"DAD! YOU BASTARD! DON'T YOU DARE KILL HIM! OR YOU WILL FACE KELP HEAD'S WRATH AND I!" Thalia yelled as if she read her father's thought.

Zeus pouted.

"But he killed you!"

"I made my choice and beside Kelp Head revived me from being a tree for seven years."

"..."

"Your kidding."

"Why I should lie to you, dad?"

"...Never mind."

 **"Stop it," Annabeth said. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either."**

Thalia nodded with a determination on her face.

 **"She sacrificed herself to save us," he said miserably, "Her death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elders said so."**

"THEY ARE SON OF THE BITCH! !#% !? BASTARDS!" Thalia roared.

"THALIA GRACE!"

"...Sorry Annie."

 **"Because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind?" I said. "That's not fair."**

"Totally. NOT. Fair." Thalia grumbled.

 **"Percy's right," Annabeth said. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither would Luke. We don't care what the council says."**

"Yeah, I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT IT!" Thalia said bitterly.

 **Grover kept sniffling in the dark. "It's just my luck. I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the two most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia and Percy."**

"Forth." Nico corrected and smile sadly remembering about Bianca di Angelo.

 **"You're not lame," Annabeth insisted. "You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met.**

"Hell yeah you are." Thalia agreed.

"No kidding." Nico added.

 **Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld. I bet Percy is really glad you're here right now."**

 **She kicked me in the shin.**

 **"Yeah," I said, which I would've done even without the kick.**

"Oh..." Annabeth blushed in embarrassment.

 **"It's not luck that you found Thalia and me, Grover. You've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher. That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan."**

Annabeth smiled sadly remembering about Great God Pan's death.

 **I heard a deep, satisfied sigh. I waited for Grover to say something, but his breathing only got heavier. When the sound turned to snoring, I realized he'd fallen sleep.**

 **"How does he do that?" I marveled.**

 **"I don't know," Annabeth said. "But that was really a nice thing you told him."**

 **"I meant it."**

 **We rode in silence for a few miles, bumping around on the feed sacks. The zebra munched a turnip. The lion licked the last of the hamburger meat off his lips and looked at me hopefully.**

 **Annabeth rubbed her necklace like she was thinking deep, strategic thoughts.**

 **"That pine-tree bead," I said. "Is that from your first year?"**

 **She looked. She hadn't realized what she was doing.**

 **"Yeah," she said. "Every August, the counselors pick the most important event of the summer, and they paint it on that year's beads. I've got Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress—now that was a weird summer..."**

"OH I GOT TO SEE THAT!" Hermes laughed hysterically.

 **"And the college ring is your father's?"**

 **"That's none of your—" She stopped herself. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."**

 **"You don't have to tell me."**

 **"No ... it's okay." She took a shaky breath. "My dad sent it to me folded up in a letter, two summers ago. The ring was, like, his main keepsake from Athena. He wouldn't have gotten through his doctoral program at Harvard without her... That's a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him."**

 **"That doesn't sound so bad."**

 **"Yeah, well... the problem was, I believed him. I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmom was the same as ever. She didn't want her kids put in danger by living with a freak.**

"I swear to Chaos, I will murder that woman in her sleep." Athena said darkly like Darth Vader, everyone is moving away from her expect for Poseidon obviously.

The room went a little darker and the hearth went cold, sealing Athena's oath.

"MOM!"

"Sorry, I just couldn't help it...By KILLING HER!"

"Mom..." Annabeth facepalmed.

 **Monsters attacked. We argued. Monsters attacked. We argued. I didn't even make it through winter break. I called Chiron and came right back to Camp Half-Blood."**

 **"You think you'll ever try living with your dad again?"**

 **She wouldn't meet my eyes. "Please. I'm not into self-inflicted pain."**

 **"You shouldn't give up," I told her. "You should write him a letter or something."**

 **"Thanks for the advice," she said coldly, "but my father's made his choice about who he wants to live with."**

 **We passed another few miles of silence.**

 **"So if the gods fight," I said, "will things line up the way they did with the Trojan War? Will it be Athena versus Poseidon?"**

 _No way in Tartarus..._ Athena thought.

 **She put her head against the backpack Ares had given us, and closed her eyes. "I don't know what my mom will do. I just know I'll fight next to you."**

"EVERYONE COVERED YOUR EARS!" Hades shouted.

Demigods groaned and then covered their ears.

"AWWW!" Aphrodite squealed like it will make you deaf.

"SERIOUSLY APHRODITE!? WHAT THE ACTUAL NAME OF GAEA'S IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Hades shouted as not recovered from the noise.

"You are no love for the lord of the dead." Aphrodite pouted.

"SHUT UP APHRODITE!"

 **"Why?"**

 **"Because you're my friend, Seaweed Brain. Any more stupid questions?"**

 **I couldn't think of an answer for that. Fortunately I didn't have to. Annabeth was asleep.**

 **I had trouble following her example, with Grover snoring and an albino lion staring hungrily at me, but eventually I closed my eyes.**

 **My nightmare started out as something I'd dreamed a million times before: I was being forced to take a standardized test while wearing a straitjacket. All the other kids were going out to recess, and the teacher kept saying, _Come on, Percy. You're not stupid, are you? Pick up your pencil_.**

 **Then the dream strayed from the usual.**

 **I looked over at the next desk and saw a girl sitting there, also wearing a straitjacket. She was my age, with unruly black, punk-style hair, dark eyeliner around her stormy green eyes, and freckles across her nose. Somehow, I knew who she was. She was Thalia, daughter of Zeus.**

"Um, that unexpected..." Thalia muttered.

 **She struggled against the straitjacket, glared at me in frustration, and snapped, Well, Seaweed Brain? One of us has to get out of here.**

"HEY! I CALLED HIM SEAWEED BRAIN!"

"SO?!"

"FUCK YOU THALIA!"

"FUCK YOU ANNIE!"

Five minutes later.

Annabeth and Thalia are hugging each other and saying sorry.

 **She's right, my dream-self thought. I'm going back to that cavern. I'm going to give Hades a piece of my mind.**

"WHY?!" Hades complained.

 **The straitjacket melted off me. I fell through the classroom floor. The teacher's voice changed until it was cold and evil, echoing from the depths of a great chasm.**

 **Percy Jackson, it said. Yes, the exchange went well, I see.**

"Oh no..." Children of Rhea and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (And no this isn't from Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort that evil bastard...) paled, knowing who it is.

 **I was back in the dark cavern, spirits of the dead drifting around me. Unseen in the pit, the monstrous thing was speaking, but this time it wasn't addressing me. The numbing power of its voice seemed directed somewhere else.**

 **And he suspects nothing? it asked.**

 **Another voice, one I almost recognized, answered at my shoulder. Nothing, my lord. He is as ignorant as the rest.**

 **I looked over, but no one was there. The speaker was invisible.**

 **Deception upon deception, the thing in the pit mused aloud. Excellent.**

 **Truly, my lord, said the voice next to me, you are well-named the Crooked One.**

After they read this, Olympians went into chaos.

"GRANDPA IS RISING! HOLY SHIT! WE'RE DOOOOOM! MOTHERFUCKING DOOM!" Hermes yelled.

"SHUT UP HERMES!" Know-it-all (no it not Annabeth) yelled.

Eldest God/Goddesses look at each other in fear, knowing they cannot kill He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, they need a Child of the Big Three to kill it. But it too risky. It can either destroy Olympus or preserve it. It fifty and fifty chances.

 **But was it really necessary? I could have brought you what I stole directly —**

 **You? the monster said in scorn. You have already shown your limits. You would have failed me completely had I not intervened.**

 **But, my lord—**

 **Peace, little servant. Our six months have bought us much. Zeus's anger has grown. Poseidon has played his most desperate card. Now we shall use it against him. Shortly you shall have the reward you wish, and your revenge. As soon as both items are delivered into my hands ... but wait. He is here.**

 **What? The invisible servant suddenly sounded tense. You summoned him, my lord?**

 **No. The full force of the monsters attention was now pouring over me, freezing me in place. Blast his father's blood—he is too changeable, too unpredictable. The boy brought himself hither.**

 **Impossible! the servant cried.**

 **For a weakling such as you, perhaps, the voice snarled. Then its cold power turned back on me. So ... you wish to dream of your quest, young half-blood? Then I will oblige.**

 **The scene changed.**

 **I was standing in a vast throne room with black marble walls and bronze floors. The empty, horrid throne was made from human bones fused together. Standing at the foot of the dais was my mother, frozen in shimmering golden light, her arms outstretched.**

 **I tried to step toward her, but my legs wouldn't move. I reached for her, only to realize that my hands were withering to bones. Grinning skeletons in Greek armor crowded around me, draping me with silk robes, wreathing my head with laurels that smoked with Chimera poison, burning into my scalp.**

 **The evil voice began to laugh. Hail, the conquering hero!**

 **I woke with a start.**

 **Grover was shaking my shoulder. "The truck's stopped," he said. "We think they're coming to check on the animals."**

 **"Hide!" Annabeth hissed.**

 **She had it easy. She just put on her magic cap and disappeared. Grover and I had to dive behind feed sacks and hope we looked like turnips.**

Artemis laughed hysterically.

"I LIKE YOU!"

Every Olympians and Demigods stared at Artemis in shock.

"What? I mean, I like her taste. Leaving the boy behind..."

"Artemis?" Hermes asked.

"Yeah?"

"You're a gay."

On the next thing Hermes knew that he is on the floor and his hand are on his private part with tears are coming out his eyes.

 **The trailer doors creaked open. Sunlight and heat poured in.**

 **"Man!" one of the truckers said, waving his hand in front of his ugly nose. "I wish I hauled appliances." He climbed inside and poured some water from a jug into the animals' dishes.**

 **"You hot, big boy?" he asked the lion, then splashed the rest of the bucket right in the lion's face.**

"THAT MORTAL BASTARD!" Artemis roared as looking deadly murderous.

 **The lion roared in indignation.**

 **"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the man said.**

 **Next to me, under the turnip sacks, Grover tensed. For a peace-loving herbivore, he looked downright murderous.**

 **The trucker threw the antelope a squashed-looking Happy Meal bag. He smirked at the zebra. "How ya doin', Stripes? Least we'll be getting rid of you this stop. You like magic shows? You're gonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!"**

Poseidon clutched his Trident and his knuckles is turning white and Poseidon is looking murderous. _That son of bitch mortal bastard...I will sent my servant to kill them..._

 **The zebra, wild-eyed with fear, looked straight at me.**

 **There was no sound, but as clear as day, I heard it say: _Free me, lord. Please._**

"Son of Poseidon...Ability to speak Poseidon's animals.." Athena muttered.

 **I was too stunned to react.**

 **There was a loud knock, knock, knock on the side of the trailer.**

 **The trucker inside with us yelled, "What do you want, Eddie?"**

"Yes...I got his name..." Artemis said darkly.

 **A voice outside—it must've been Eddie's—shouted back, "Maurice? What'd ya say?"**

"And his...I will has his head..." Artemis said darkly.

 **"What are you banging for?"**

 **Knock, knock, knock.**

 **Outside, Eddie yelled, "What banging?"**

 **Our guy Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot.**

 **A second later, Annabeth appeared next to me. She must've done the banging to get Maurice out of the trailer. She said, "This transport business can't be legal."**

 **"No kidding," Grover said. He paused, as if listening. "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers!"**

"Sick bastard." Artemis and Poseidon growled.

 ** _That's right_** **, the zebra's voice said in my mind.**

 **"We've got to free them!" Grover said. He and Annabeth both looked at me, waiting for my lead.**

 **I'd heard the zebra talk, but not the lion. Why? Maybe it was another learning disability ... I could only understand zebras? Then I thought: horses. What had Annabeth said about Poseidon creating horses? Was a zebra close enough to a horse? Was that why I could understand it?**

"Damn...He is slow." Thalia exclaimed.

 **The zebra said, _Open my cage, lord. Please. I'll be fine after that._**

 **Outside, Eddie and Maurice were still yelling at each other, but I knew they'd be coming inside to torment the animals again any minute. I grabbed Riptide and slashed the lock off the zebra's cage.**

 **The zebra burst out. It turned to me and bowed. _Thank you, lord._**

 **Grover held up his hands and said something to the zebra in goat talk, like a blessing.**

 _Good_ Dionysus thought.

 **Just as Maurice was poking his head back inside to check out the noise, the zebra leaped over him and into the street. There was yelling and screaming and cars honking. We rushed to the doors of the trailer in time to see the zebra galloping down a wide boulevard lined with hotels and casinos and neon signs. We'd just released a zebra in Las Vegas.**

 **Maurice and Eddie ran after it, with a few policemen running after them, shouting, "Hey! You need a permit for that!"**

 **"Now would be a good time to leave," Annabeth said.**

 **"The other animals first," Grover said.**

 **I cut the locks with my sword. Grover raised his hands and spoke the same goat-blessing he'd used for the zebra.**

 **"Good luck," I told the animals. The antelope and the lion burst out of their cages and went off together into the streets.**

 **Some tourists screamed. Most just backed off and took pictures, probably thinking it was some kind of stunt by one of the casinos.**

 **"Will the animals be okay?" I asked Grover. "I mean, the desert and all—"**

 **"Don't worry," he said. "I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them."**

 **"Meaning?"**

 **"Meaning they'll reach the wild safely," he said. "They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live."**

 **"Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" I asked.**

 **"It only works on wild animals."**

 **"So it would only affect Percy," Annabeth reasoned.**

"HEY!" Poseidon look offended.

"Sorry milord."

 **"Hey!" I protested.**

"Like a father, like a son." Hermes Smiled.

 **"Kidding," she said. "Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck."**

 **We stumbled out into the desert afternoon. It was a hundred and ten degrees, easy, and we must've looked like deep-fried vagrants, but everybody was too interested in the wild animals to pay us much attention.**

 **We passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. We passed pyramids, a pirate ship, and the Statue of Liberty, which was a pretty small replica, but still made me homesick.**

 **I wasn't sure what we were looking for. Maybe just a place to get out of the heat for a few minutes, find a sandwich and a glass of lemonade, make a new plan for getting west.**

 **We must have taken a wrong turn, because we found ourselves at a dead end, standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino.**

Nico paled. _It cannot be...!_

Hades look at his son nervously as other Olympians as well.

"How—?!"

"Spoilers." Annabeth shrugged.

Thalia and as others look confused.

"What?"

 **The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up and blinking. No one was going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air-conditioning that smelled like flowers—lotus blossom, maybe. I'd never smelled one, so I wasn't sure.**

 **The doorman smiled at us. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"**

"NO FUCK NO!" Nico shouted.

 **I'd learned to be suspicious, the last week or so. I figured anybody might be a monster or a god. You just couldn't tell. But this guy was normal. One look at him, and I could see. Besides, I was so relieved to hear somebody who sounded sympathetic that I nodded and said we'd love to come in. Inside, we took one look around, and Grover said, "Whoa."**

 **The whole lobby was a giant game room. And I'm not talking about cheesy old Pac-Man games or slot machines. There was an indoor waterslide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up at least forty floors. There was a climbing wall on the side of one building, and an indoor bungee-jumping bridge. There were virtual-reality suits with working laser guns. And hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen TV. Basically, you name it, this place had it. There were a few other kids playing, but not that many. No waiting for any of the games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you can imagine.**

"Whoa..." The Stolls drooled.

"Don't. Even think about it." Nico warned. "Or you will be trapped in there for eternity."

 **"Hey!" a bellhop said. At least I guessed he was a bellhop. He wore a white-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."**

"That place is haunted..." Nico whispered.

 **I stammered, "Um, but..."**

 **"No, no," he said, laughing. "The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, loom 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, or skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your Lotus Cash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides."**

 **He handed us each a green plastic credit card.**

 **I knew there must be some mistake. Obviously he thought we were some millionaire's kids. But I took the card and said, "How much is on here?"**

 **His eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean?"**

 **"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"**

 **He laughed. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."**

"Woooooow!" The Stolls shouted.

"What the—?! STOLLS! YOU STOLE MY WALLET! GET IT BACK YOU BASTARDS!" Clarisse shouted as chasing the Stolls.

 **We took the elevator upstairs and checked out our room. It was a suite with three separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips. A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels and water beds with feather pillows. A big-screen television with satellite and high-speed Internet. The balcony had its own hot tub, and sure enough, there was a skeet-shooting machine and a shotgun, so you could launch clay pigeons right out over the Las Vegas skyline and plug them with your gun. I didn't see how that could be legal, but I thought it was pretty cool. The view over the Strip and the desert was amazing, though I doubted we'd ever find time to look at the view with a room like this.**

 **"Oh, goodness," Annabeth said. "This place is ..."**

"Is so fucking bloody hell." Nico whispered.

 **"Sweet," Grover said. "Absolutely sweet."**

 **There were clothes in the closet, and they fit me. I frowned, thinking that this was a little strange.**

 **I threw Ares's backpack in the trash can. Wouldn't need that anymore. When we left, I could just charge a new one at the hotel store.**

 **I took a shower, which felt awesome after a week of grimy travel. I changed clothes, ate a bag of chips, drank three Cokes, and came out feeling better than I had in a long time. In the back of my mind, some small problem kept nagging me. I'd had a dream or something ... I needed to talk to my friends. But I was sure it could wait.**

 **I came out of the bedroom and found that Annabeth and Grover had also showered and changed clothes. Grover was eating potato chips to his heart's content, while Annabeth cranked up the National Geographic Channel.**

 **"All those stations," I told her, "and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?"**

 **"It's interesting."**

 **"I feel good," Grover said. "I love this place."**

"Grover..." Nico scowled.

 **Without his even realizing it, the wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down again.**

 **"So what now?" Annabeth asked. "Sleep?"**

 **Grover and I looked at each other and grinned. We both held up our green plastic Lotus Cash cards.**

 **"Play time," I said.**

 **I couldn't remember the last time I had so much fun. I came from a relatively poor family. Our idea of a splurge was eating out at Burger King and renting a video. A five-star Vegas hotel? Forget it.**

 **I bungee-jumped the lobby five or six times, did the waterslide, snowboarded the artificial ski slope, and played virtual-reality laser tag and FBI sharpshooter. I saw Grover a few times, going from game to game. He really liked the reverse hunter thing—where the deer go out and shoot the rednecks. I saw Annabeth playing trivia games and other brainiac stuff. They had this huge 3-D sim game where you build your own city, and you could actually see the holographic buildings rise on the display board. I didn't think much of it, but Annabeth loved it.**

 **I'm not sure when I first realized something was wrong.**

 **Probably, it was when I noticed the guy standing next to me at VR sharpshooters. He was about thirteen, I guess, but his clothes were weird. I thought he was some Elvis impersonator's son. He wore bell-bottom jeans and a red T-shirt with black piping, and his hair was permed and gelled like a New Jersey girl's on homecoming night.**

 **We played a game of sharpshooters together and he said, "Groovy, man. Been here two weeks, and the games keep getting better and better."**

"Groovy?" Thalia asked.

Nico look like shock. _Is that Darrin?_

 **Groovy?**

 **Later, while we were talking, I said something was "sick," and he looked at me kind of startled, as if he'd never heard the word used that way before.**

 **He said his name was Darrin, but as soon as I started asking him questions he got bored with me and started to go back to the computer screen.**

 **I said, "Hey, Darrin?"**

 **"What?"**

 **"What year is it?"**

 **He frowned at me. "In the game?"**

 **"No. In real life."**

 **He had to think about it. "1977."**

"That is in seven years for now..." Teenage Zeus said suspiciously.

 **"No," I said, getting a little scared. "Really."**

 **"Hey, man. Bad vibes. I got a game happening."**

 **After that he totally ignored me.**

 **I started talking to people, and I found it wasn't easy. They were glued to the TV screen, or the video game, or their food, or whatever. I found a guy who told me it was 1985.**

"HOW?!" Athena look shock.

 **Another guy told me it was 1993. They all claimed they hadn't been in here very long, a few days, a few weeks at most.**

"Impossible..." Athena and teenage Zeus look shock.

 **They didn't really know and they didn't care.**

 **Then it occurred to me: how long had I been here? It seemed like only a couple of hours, but was it?**

"Oh no...Why I'm getting a bad feeling about this...(That sound familiar...What do you think it is from?)" Zeus whispered.

 **I tried to remember why we were here. We were going to Los Angeles. We were supposed to find the entrance to the Underworld. My mother ... for a scary second, I had trouble remembering her name. Sally. Sally Jackson. I had to find her. I had to stop Hades from causing World War III.**

"That bad..." Hermes said stupidity.

 **I found Annabeth still building her city.**

 **"Come on," I told her. "We've got to get out of here."**

 **No response.**

 **I shook her. "Annabeth?"**

 **She looked up, annoyed. "What?**

 **"We need to leave."**

 **"Leave? What are you talking about? I've just got the towers—"**

 **"This place is a trap."**

 **She didn't respond until I shook her again. "What?"**

 **"Listen. The Underworld. Our quest!"**

 **"Oh, come on, Percy. Just a few more minutes."**

 **"Annabeth, there are people here from 1977. Kids who have never aged. You check in, and you stay forever."**

 **"So?" she asked. "Can you imagine a better place?"**

"Oh Gods." Thalia said. "Her Fatal Flaw..."

"SHUT UP!"

 **I grabbed her wrist and yanked her away from the game.**

 **"Hey!" She screamed and hit me, but nobody else even bothered looking at us. They were too busy.**

 **I made her look directly in my eyes. I said, "Spiders. Large, hairy spiders."**

 **That jarred her. Her vision cleared. "Oh my gods," she said. "How long have we—"**

 **"I don't know, but we've got to find Grover."**

 **We went searching, and found him still playing Virtual Deer Hunter.**

 **"Grover!" we both shouted.**

 **He said, "Die, human! Die, silly polluting nasty person!"**

"Yeah. Die." Artemis said darkly.

 **"Grover!"**

 **He turned the plastic gun on me and started clicking, as if I were just another image from the screen.**

 **I looked at Annabeth, and together we took Grover by the arms and dragged him away. His flying shoes sprang to life and started tugging his legs in the other direction as he shouted, "No! I just got to a new level! No!"**

 **The Lotus bellhop hurried up to us. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?"**

 **"We're leaving," I told him.**

 **"Such a shame," he said, and I got the feeling that he really meant it, that we'd be breaking his heart if we went. "We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum-card members."**

 **He held out the cards, and I wanted one.**

"FUCK NO! KILL THAT FUCKER!" Nico shouted.

 **I knew that if I took one, I'd never leave. I'd stay here, happy forever, playing games forever, and soon I'd forget my mom, and my quest, and maybe even my own name. I'd be playing virtual rifleman with groovy Disco Darrin forever.**

Everyone chuckled weakly.

 **Grover reached for the card, but Annabeth yanked back his arm and said, "No, thanks."**

 **We walked toward the door, and as we did, the smell of the food and the sounds of the games seemed to get more and more inviting. I thought about our room upstairs. We could just stay the night, sleep in a real bed for once...**

 **Then we burst through the doors of the Lotus Casino and ran down the sidewalk. It felt like afternoon, about the same time of day we'd gone into the casino, but something was wrong. The weather had completely changed. It was stormy, with heat lightning flashing out in the desert.**

"Are we too late?" Thalia whispered.

 **Ares's backpack was slung over my shoulder, which was odd, because I was sure I had thrown it in the trash can in room 4001, but at the moment I had other problems to worry about.**

 **I ran to the nearest newspaper stand and read the year first. Thank the gods, it was the same year it had been when we went in. Then I noticed the date: June twentieth.**

 **We had been in the Lotus Casino for five days.**

"HOLY ZEUS' MOTHER!" Clarisse screamed.

Zeus glared at her.

Clarisse smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

 **We had only one day left until the summer solstice. One day to complete our quest.**

"Finished." Son of Hermes said.

"Who want to read next?" Katie asked.

"Me." Katie said.

Chris handed over the book to Daughter of Demeter.

" **We Shop for Water Beds** " Katie read out loud.


	18. We Shop for Water Beds

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

* * *

Leo raise his eyebrows. "Really?"

 **It was Annabeth's idea.**

"What is it?" Leo asked innocently.

 **She loaded us into the back of a Vegas taxi as if we actually had money, and told the driver, "Los Angeles, please."**

 **The cabbie chewed his cigar and sized us up. "That's three hundred miles. For that, you gotta pay up front."**

 **"You accept casino debit cards?" Annabeth asked.**

 **He shrugged. "Some of 'em. Same as credit cards. I gotta swipe 'em through first."**

 **Annabeth handed him her green Lotus Cash card.**

 **He looked at it skeptically.**

 **"Swipe it," Annabeth invited.**

 **He did.**

"I'm betting for fifteen Golden Drachma that will be hundred dollars." Hermes said.

"I'm in! I'm betting for fifteen Golden Drachma that will be infinitely." Poseidon frowned and then turn into a grin.

 **His meter machine started rattling. The lights flashed. Finally an infinity symbol came up next to the dollar sign.**

"Pay it up." Poseidon smirked.

"Fuck you Poseidon. You knew it didn't you.."

"Yup."

"Fuck you."

 **The cigar fell out of the driver's mouth. He looked back at us, his eyes wide. "Where to in Los Angeles... uh, Your Highness?"**

 **"The Santa Monica Pier." Annabeth sat up a little straighter. I could tell she liked the "Your Highness" thing.**

"Pride..." Thalia said.

"Oh shut it."

 **"Get us there fast, and you can keep the change."**

"WHAT?! Noooo!" The Stolls whined.

 **Maybe she shouldn't have told him that. The cab's speedometer never dipped below ninety-five the whole way through the Mojave Desert.**

 **On the road, we had plenty of time to talk. I told Annabeth and Grover about my latest dream, but the details got sketchier the more I tried to remember them. The Lotus Casino seemed to have short-circuited my memory.**

Jason flinched at the word 'memory'.

 **I couldn't recall what the invisible servant's voice had sounded like, though I was sure it was somebody I knew. The servant had called the monster in the pit something other than "my lord"...some special name or title...**

 **"The Silent One?" Annabeth suggested. "The Rich One? Both of those are nicknames for Hades."**

 **"Maybe..." I said, though neither sounded quite right.**

"Yeah...It a Grandpa, that is rising.." Hermes said weakly.

 **"That throne room sounds like Hades's," Grover said. "That's the way it's usually described."**

 **I shook my head. "Something's wrong. The throne room wasn't the main part of the dream. And that voice from the pit ... I don't know. It just didn't feel like a god's voice."**

 **Annabeth's eyes widened.**

 **"What?" I asked.**

 **"Oh ... nothing. I was just—No, it has to be Hades. Maybe he sent this thief, this invisible person, to get the master bolt, and something went wrong—"**

 **"Like what?"**

 **"I—I don't know," she said. "But if he stole Zeus's symbol of power from Olympus, and the gods were hunting him, I mean, a lot of things could go wrong. So this thief had to hide the bolt, or he lost it somehow. Anyway, he failed to bring it to Hades. That's what the voice said in your dream, right? The guy failed. That would explain what the Furies were searching for when they came after us on the bus. Maybe they thought we had retrieved the bolt."**

 **I wasn't sure what was wrong with her. She looked pale.**

"You knew...?" Thalia asked Annabeth.

"Well..

 **"But if I'd already retrieved the bolt," I said, "why would I be traveling to the Underworld?"**

 **"To threaten Hades," Grover suggested. "To bribe or blackmail him into getting your mom back."**

"Wow...I never knew that Grover has a dark side...Man, he is evil..." Travis muttered.

Jason whistled. "Yeah, I don't give a damn."

 **I whistled. "You have evil thoughts for a goat."**

"HEY" Travis shouted.

 **"Why, thank you."**

 **"But the thing in the pit said it was waiting for two items," I said. "If the master bolt is one, what's the other?"**

Athena paled. _It cannot be...! Let hope that isn't a case..Oh Gods please don't._

 **Grover shook his head, clearly mystified.**

 **Annabeth was looking at me as if she knew my next question, and was silently willing me not to ask it.**

"You weren't? Wow, _for the first time in forever_ —"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! DON'T YOU DARE FINISH YOUR DAMN SENTENCE STOLLS! OR I WILL KICK YOU WHERE THE SUN DOESN'T SHINE!" Thalia shouted and clearly have grudge against _Frozen_.

The Stolls went silent.

"Good."

 **"You have an idea what might be in that pit, don't you?" I asked her. "I mean, if it isn't Hades?"**

The Gods look at each other nervously.

 **"Percy ... let's not talk about it. Because if it isn't Hades ... No. It has to be Hades."**

"Awww...Annie your doubting yourself? Oh I don't let you push your _luck_." Thalia said sarcastically.

"Oh shut up."

 **Wasteland rolled by. We passed a sign that said CALIFORNIA STATE LINE, 12 MILES.**

 **I got the feeling I was missing one simple, critical piece of information. It was like when I stared at a common word I should know, but I couldn't make sense of it because one or two letters were floating around.**

"Fuck the dyslexia and ADHD!" Connor cursed.

 **The more I thought about my quest, the more I was sure that confronting Hades wasn't the real answer. There was something else going on, something even more dangerous.**

 **The problem was: we were hurtling toward the Underworld at ninety-five miles an hour, betting that Hades had the master bolt.**

"HELLLOOO?! I'M INNOCENT, HERE!" Hades whined.

"Oh, shut up Hades." Demeter huffed out her sudden irritation.

Hades glared at Demeter coldly.

"You bastard..."

"...Oh shut it."

"Fuck you."

"Gladly."

 **If we got there and found out we were wrong, we wouldn't have time to correct ourselves. The solstice deadline would pass and war would begin.**

 **"The answer is in the Underworld," Annabeth assured me. "You saw spirits of the dead, Percy. There's only one place that could be. We're doing the right thing."**

"Wrong." Hades growled. "You are fucking accusing me for doing N-O-T-H-I-N-G, NOTHING!"

 **She tried to boost our morale by suggesting clever strategies for getting into the Land of the Dead, but my heart wasn't in it. There were just too many unknown factors. It was like cramming for a test without knowing the subject. And believe me, I'd done that enough times.**

 **The cab sped west. Every gust of wind through Death Valley sounded like a spirit of the dead. Every time the brakes hissed on an eighteen-wheeler, it reminded me of Echidna's reptilian voice.**

 **At sunset, the taxi dropped us at the beach in Santa Monica. It looked exactly the way L.A. beaches do in the movies, only it smelled worse. There were carnival rides lining the Pier, palm trees lining the sidewalks, homeless guys sleeping in the sand dunes, and surfer dudes waiting for the perfect wave.**

 **Grover, Annabeth, and I walked down to the edge of the surf.**

 **"What now?" Annabeth asked.**

 **The Pacific was turning gold in the setting sun. I thought about how long it had been since I'd stood on the beach at Montauk, on the opposite side of the country, looking out at a different sea.**

 **How could there be a god who could control all that? What did my science teacher used to say—two-thirds of the earth's surface was covered in water?**

"I cannot believe it." Thalia exclaimed. "He actually listened to his teacher? What happened to Kelp Head?"

"He is long gone." Jason reminded his sister.

"That is not what I meant."

"Oh."

 **How could I be the son of someone that powerful?**

"Kronos." Leo blurted.

Suddenly the room got harder and hearth died a little.

"Leo." Annabeth warned. "Use your words more wisely."

Leo smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, dudes."

Hera raises her eyebrows in confusion.

"Excuse me?" Hera replied.

"You know—"

"GUYS! GUYS! SHUT UP OKAY?!" Thalia yelled.

 **I stepped into the surf.**

 **"Percy?" Annabeth said. "What are you doing?"**

 **I kept walking, up to my waist, then my chest.**

 **She called after me, "You know how polluted that water is? There're all kinds of toxic—"**

 **That's when my head went under.**

The male in the room chuckled.

"That. Is a way to shut them up." Leo cracked up.

Goddesses in this room glared at male Gods and Demigods.

 **I held my breath at first. It's difficult to intentionally inhale water. Finally I couldn't stand it anymore. I gasped. Sure enough, I could breathe normally.**

At this point Poseidon frowned.

 **I walked down into the shoals. I shouldn't have been able to see through the murk, but somehow I could tell where everything was. I could sense the rolling texture of the bottom. I could make out sand-dollar colonies dotting the sandbars. I could even see the currents, warm and cold streams swirling together.**

 **I felt something rub against my leg. I looked down and almost shot out of the water like a ballistic missile. Sliding along beside me was a five-foot-long mako shark.**

 **But the thing wasn't attacking. It was nuzzling me. Heeling like a dog.**

Jason thought envy and bitterly about his father didn't allowed him to do that.

Leo look at the in awed. _Lucky bastards!_

 **Tentatively, I touched its dorsal fin. It bucked a little, as if inviting me to hold tighter. I grabbed the fin with both hands. It took off, pulling me along. The shark carried me down into the darkness. It deposited me at the edge of the ocean proper, where the sand bank dropped off into a huge chasm. It was like standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon at midnight, not being able to see much, but knowing the void was right there.**

 **The surface shimmered maybe a hundred and fifty feet above. I knew I should've been crushed by the pressure. Then again, I shouldn't have been able to breathe. I wondered if there was a limit to how deep I could go, if I could sink straight to the bottom of the Pacific.**

 **Then I saw something glimmering in the darkness below, growing bigger and brighter as it rose toward me. A woman's voice, like my mother's, called: "Percy Jackson."**

 **As she got closer, her shape became clearer. She had flowing black hair, a dress made of green silk. Light flickered around her, and her eyes were so distractingly beautiful I hardly noticed the stallion-sized sea horse she was riding.**

 **She dismounted. The sea horse and the mako shark whisked off and started playing something that looked like tag. The underwater lady smiled at me. "You've come far, Percy Jackson. Well done."**

 **I wasn't quite sure what to do, so I bowed.**

"Oh Gods. He bowed. HE MOTHERFUCKING BOWED! FUCK! THE WORLD IS ENDING! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, MOTHERFUCKERS!" Thalia shouted dramatically and ran into circles screaming.

Everyone chuckled expect for Hera whom doesn't approved her foul language.

 **"You're the woman who spoke to me in the Mississippi River."**

"Duh." Leo rolled his eyes. "How could he be stupid?"

"He isn't stupid." Annabeth protested. "He maybe is a fool, but a good man."

 **"Yes, child. I am a Nereid, a spirit of the sea. It was not easy to appear so far upriver, but the naiads, my freshwater cousins, helped sustain my life force. They honor Lord Poseidon, though they do not serve in his court."**

 **"And ... you serve in Poseidon's court?"**

 **She nodded. "It has been many years since a child of the Sea God has been born. We have watched you with great interest."**

 **Suddenly I remembered faces in the waves off Montauk Beach when I was a little boy, reflections of smiling women.**

"Bother, y'know that you are a stalker. Spying your future son's life." Zeus laughed.

"OH SHUT UP!"

 **Like so many of the weird things in my life, I'd never given it much thought before.**

 **"If my father is so interested in me," I said, "why isn't he here? Why doesn't he speak to me?"**

"Because, someone made the stupid law..." Poseidon glared at Zeus as well other Gods and Goddesses.

 **A cold current rose out of the depths.**

 **"Do not judge the Lord of the Sea too harshly," the Nereid told me. "He stands at the brink of an unwanted war. He has much to occupy his time. Besides, he is forbidden to help you directly. The gods may not show such favoritism."**

 **"Even to their own children?"**

 **"Especially to them. The gods can work by indirect influence only. That is why I give you a warning, and a gift."**

 **She held out her hand. Three white pearls flashed in her palm.**

 **"I know you journey to Hades's realm," she said. "Few mortals have ever done this and survived: Orpheus, who had great music skill; Hercules, who had great strength; Houdini, who could escape even the depths of Tartarus. Do you have these talents?"**

 **"Urn ... no, ma'am."**

The Demigods expression look like what-the-actual-fuck?!

 **"Ah, but you have something else, Percy. You have gifts you have only begun to know. The oracles have foretold a great and terrible future for you, should you survive to manhood. Poseidon would not have you die before your time. Therefore take these, and when you are in need, smash a pearl at your feet."**

 **"What will happen?"**

 **"That," she said, "depends on the need. But remember: what belongs to the sea will always return to the sea."**

 **"What about the warning?"**

 **Her eyes flickered with green light. "Go with what your heart tells you, or you will lose all. Hades feeds on doubt and hopelessness. He will trick you if he can, make you mistrust your own judgment.**

The two sons of Rhea and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named glared at eldest son of Rhea and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Hades laughed nervously.

"Guilty."

 **Once you are in his realm, he will never willingly let you leave.**

"You better not...Or I will curse your children will stuffers the fate of mine future son." Poseidon glared at Hades murderously.

Hades growled.

"You bastard...!"

 **Keep faith. Good luck, Percy Jackson."**

 **She summoned her sea horse and rode toward the void.**

 **"Wait!" I called. "At the river, you said not to trust the gifts. What gifts?"**

"Exactly, what gift?" Athena asked with a curiosity.

"ATHENA! Your damn curiosity just killed the cat!" Poseidon yelled. "YOUR DAMN ARROGANCE FLAW!"

"YOU HAVE YOUR OWN STUPID VALOR FLAW! ( **A/N: In my version, it means it can lead downfall of Olympus from having too much courage and fearless front of the battle of Titan or Giant or Primordial War. It possible that it lead downfall of a Gods or Goddesses. It pretty rare Fatal Flaw that Demigods or Olympians could have.** ) THAT CAN LEAD DOWNFALL OF OLYMPUS!" Athena shouted in rage.

"SHUT UP ATHENA!"

"Humph."

 **"Good-bye, young hero," she called back, her voice fading into the depths. "You must listen to your heart." She became a speck of glowing green, and then she was gone.**

 **I wanted to follow her down into the darkness. I wanted to see the court of Poseidon. But I looked up at the sunset darkening on the surface. My friends were waiting. We had so little time...**

 **I kicked upward toward the shore.**

 **When I reached the beach, my clothes dried instantly. I told Grover and Annabeth what had happened, and showed them the pearls.**

 **Annabeth grimaced. "No gift comes without a price."**

 **"They were free."**

Everyone chuckled.

 **"No." She shook her head. "'There is no such thing as a free lunch.' That's an ancient Greek saying that translated pretty well into American. There will be a price. You wait."**

 **On that happy thought, we turned our backs on the sea.**

 **With some spare change from Ares's backpack, we took the bus into West Hollywood. I showed the driver the Underworld address slip I'd taken from Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium, but he'd never heard of DOA Recording Studios.**

 **"You remind me of somebody I saw on TV," he told me.**

"Oh fuck!" Poseidon cursed. "My son is doomed..."

 **"You a child actor or something?"**

"That is not going to happen anytime soon." Thalia shook her head.

 **"Uh...I'm a stunt double ... for a lot of child actors."**

Hermes sniffed. _Like he fall for that._

 **"Oh! That explains it."**

Hermes' jaw dropped. _No way! He actually fell for that! What an idiot..!_

 **We thanked him and got off quickly at the next stop.**

 **We wandered for miles on foot, looking for DOA. Nobody seemed to know where it was. It didn't appear in the phone book.**

 **Twice, we ducked into alleys to avoid cop cars.**

 **I froze in front of an appliance-store window because a television was playing an interview with somebody who looked very familiar—my stepdad, Smelly Gabe.**

"THAT FUCKING BASTARD!" Poseidon roared in anger.

 **He was talking to Barbara Walters—I mean, as if he were some kind of huge celebrity. She was interviewing him in our apartment, in the middle of a poker game, and there was a young blond lady sitting next to him, patting his hand.**

 **A fake tear glistened on his cheek.**

"Fuck him. GO SUCK A—"

"—POSEIDON! There is children in here. I won't say that if I were you." Hestia warned.

Poseidon pouted.

"That bastard should die..." Poseidon muttered.

 **He was saying, "Honest, Ms. Walters, if it wasn't for Sugar here, my grief counselor, I'd be a wreck. My stepson took everything I cared about.**

"Yeah yeah right!" Thalia mocked. "Like he did. You took his childhood away from him. You should go to hell."

 **My wife ... my Camaro ... I—I'm sorry. I have trouble talking about it."**

 **"There you have it, America." Barbara Walters turned to the camera. "A man torn apart. An adolescent boy with serious issues. Let me show you, again, the last known photo of this troubled young fugitive, taken a week ago in Denver."**

 **The screen cut to a grainy shot of me, Annabeth, and Grover standing outside the Colorado diner, talking to Ares.**

 **"Who are the other children in this photo?" Barbara Walters asked dramatically. "Who is the man with them? Is Percy Jackson a delinquent, a terrorist, or perhaps the brainwashed victim of a frightening new cult? When we come back, we chat with a leading child psychologist. Stay tuned, America."**

 **"C'mon," Grover told me. He hauled me away before I could punch a hole in the appliance-store window.**

Jason tried to calm his sister down from shooting the lightning around her.

 **It got dark, and hungry-looking characters started coming out on the streets to play. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a New Yorker. I don't scare easy. But L.A. had a totally different feel from New York. Back home, everything seemed close. It didn't matter how big the city was, you could get anywhere without getting lost.**

Annabeth and Clarisse shuddered at that memory of in the Labyrinth.

 **The street pattern and the subway made sense. There was a system to how things worked. A kid could be safe as long as he wasn't stupid.**

 **L.A. wasn't like that. It was spread out, chaotic, hard to move around. It reminded me of Ares. It wasn't enough for L.A. to be big; it had to prove it was big by being loud and strange and difficult to navigate, too. I didn't know how we were ever going to find the entrance to the Underworld by tomorrow, the summer solstice.**

 **We walked past gangbangers, bums, and street hawkers, who looked at us like they were trying to figure if we were worth the trouble of mugging.**

 **As we hurried passed the entrance of an alley, a voice from the darkness said, "Hey, you."**

 **Like an idiot, I stopped.**

"That damned fool." Clarisse muttered.

 **Before I knew it, we were surrounded. A gang of kids had circled us. Six of them in all—white kids with expensive clothes and mean faces. Like the kids at Yancy Academy: rich brats playing at being bad boys.**

"Being a bad boy...Is awesome." Leo muttered while remembering about meeting Narcissus and Echo. _Man, that was the best time in my life._

 **Instinctively, I uncapped Riptide.**

 **When the sword appeared out of nowhere, the kids backed off, but their leader was either really stupid or really brave, because he kept coming at me with a switchblade.**

 **I made the mistake of swinging.**

At this point everyone facepalmed.

 **The kid yelped. But he must've been one hundred percent mortal, because the blade passed harmlessly right through his chest. He looked down. "What the ..."**

 **I figured I had about three seconds before his shock turned to anger. "Run!" I screamed at Annabeth and Grover.**

 **We pushed two kids out of the way and raced down the street, not knowing where we were going. We turned a sharp corner.**

 **"There!" Annabeth shouted.**

 **Only one store on the block looked open, its windows glaring with neon. The sign above the door said something like CRSTUY'S WATRE BDE ALPACE.**

"What?"

 **"Crusty's Water Bed Palace?" Grover translated.**

"Oh thanks the Gods that we Grover to translate..." Nico muttered.

 **It didn't sound like a place I'd ever go except in an emergency, but this definitely qualified.**

 **We burst through the doors, ran behind a water bed, and ducked. A split second later, the gang kids ran past outside.**

 **"I think we lost them," Grover panted.**

 **A voice behind us boomed, "Lost who?"**

 **We all jumped.**

 **Standing behind us was a guy who looked like a raptor in a leisure suit. He was at least seven feet tall, with absolutely no hair. He had gray, leathery skin, thick-lidded eyes, and a cold, reptilian smile. He moved toward us slowly, but I got the feeling he could move fast if he needed to.**

 **His suit might've come from the Lotus Casino.**

At this point Nico shuddered in fear at the word ' _Lotus Casino_ ' it brings bad memories.

 **It belonged back in the seventies, big-time. The shirt was silk paisley, unbuttoned halfway down his hairless chest. The lapels on his velvet jacket were as wide as landing strips. The silver chains around his neck—I couldn't even count them.**

 **"I'm Crusty," he said, with a tartar-yellow smile.**

"That is disgusting!" Aphrodite shrieked.

Aphrodite's children nodded with a agreement with wrinkled their nose in disgust.

 **I resisted the urge to say, _Yes, you are._**

 **"Sorry to barge in," I told him. "We were just, um, browsing."**

 **"You mean hiding from those no-good kids," he grumbled. "They hang around every night. I get a lot of people in here, thanks to them. Say, you want to look at a water bed?"**

 **I was about to say _No, thanks,_ when he put a huge paw on my shoulder and steered me deeper into the showroom.**

"Monster." Athena confirmed.

Poseidon paled and groaned. _Why...Why.._

 **There was every kind of water bed you could imagine: different kinds of wood, different patterns of sheets; queen-size, king-size, emperor-of-the-universe-size.**

 **"This is my most popular model." Crusty spread his hands proudly over a bed covered with black satin sheets, with built-in Lava Lamps on the headboard. The mattress vibrated, so it looked like oil-flavored Jell-O.**

 **"Million-hand massage," Crusty told us. "Go on, try it out. Shoot, take a nap. I don't care. No business today, any-way.**

 **"Um," I said, "I don't think ..."**

 **"Million-hand massage!" Grover cried, and dove in. "Oh, you guys! This is cool."**

Everyone facepalmed. _Idiot_..

 **"Hmm," Crusty said, stroking his leathery chin. "Almost, almost."**

Athena paled. _It cannot be...!_

 **"Almost what?" I asked.**

 **He looked at Annabeth. "Do me a favor and try this one over here, honey. Might fit."**

 **Annabeth said, "But what—"**

 **He patted her reassuringly on the shoulder and led her over to the Safari Deluxe model with teakwood lions carved into the frame and a leopard-patterned comforter. When Annabeth didn't want to lie down, Crusty pushed her.**

Athena growled. _That no-good son of bitch! Who dares touch my daughter!_

 **"Hey!" she protested.**

 **Crusty snapped his fingers. "Ergo!"**

Poseidon paled as he realized who it is.

"Procrustes...! It couldn't be!"

Everyone expect Annabeth paled.

 **Ropes sprang from the sides of the bed, lashing around Annabeth, holding her to the mattress.**

 **Grover tried to get up, but ropes sprang from his black-satin bed, too, and lashed him down.**

 **"N-not c-c-cool!" he yelled, his voice vibrating from the million-hand massage. "N-not c-cool a-at all!"**

"I agree." Nico said.

 **The giant looked at Annabeth, then turned toward me and grinned. "Almost, darn it."**

Poseidon growled. _That bastard...!_

 **I tried to step away, but his hand shot out and clamped around the back of my neck. "Whoa, kid. Don't worry. We'll find you one in a sec."**

 **"Let my friends go."**

 **"Oh, sure I will. But I got to make them fit, first."**

 **"What do you mean?"**

 **"All the beds are exactly six feet, see? Your friends are too short. Got to make them fit."**

Everyone couldn't bare imagine the horror it is.

 **Annabeth and Grover kept struggling.**

 **"Can't stand imperfect measurements," Crusty muttered. "Ergo!"**

 **A new set of ropes leaped out from the top and bottom of the beds, wrapping around Grover and Annabeth's ankles, then around their armpits. The ropes started tightening, pulling my friends from both ends.**

 **"Don't worry," Crusty told me, "These are stretching jobs. Maybe three extra inches on their spines.**

"Oooh...! That how you got taller. I always wondered." Connor said.

 **They might even live.**

"' _MIGHT_?!'" Athena roared.

 **Now why don't we find a bed you like, huh?"**

 **"Percy!" Grover yelled.**

 **My mind was racing. I knew I couldn't take on this giant water-bed salesman alone. He would snap my neck before I ever got my sword out.**

 **"Your real name's not Crusty, is it?" I asked.**

 **"Legally, it's Procrustes," he admitted.**

 **"The Stretcher," I said. I remembered the story: the giant who'd tried to kill Theseus with excess hospitality on his way to Athens.**

 **"Yeah," the salesman said. "But who can pronounce Procrustes? Bad for business. Now 'Crusty,' anybody can say that."**

 **"You're right. It's got a good ring to it."**

 **His eyes lit up. "You think so?"**

 **"Oh, absolutely," I said. "And the workmanship on these beds? Fabulous!"**

Athena gasped in the dawn of realization and smirked. _I see...That is plan._

Everyone's expression look horrified.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Leo screamed. "ARE YOU KILLING YOUR TEAMMATES?!"

 **He grinned hugely, but his fingers didn't loosen on my neck. "I tell my customers that. Every time. Nobody bothers to look at the workmanship. How many built-in Lava Lamp headboards have you seen?"**

 **"Not too many."**

 **"That's right!"**

 **"Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "What are you doing?"**

 **"Don't mind her," I told Procrustes. "She's impossible."**

"HEY!" Athena look offended. "I take a offense from that!"

 **The giant laughed. "All my customers are. Never six feet exactly. So inconsiderate. And then they complain about the fitting."**

 **"What do you do if they're longer than six feet?"**

 **"Oh, that happens all the time. It's a simple fix."**

 **He let go of my neck, but before I could react, he reached behind a nearby sales desk and brought out a huge double-bladed brass axe. He said, "I just center the subject as best I can and lop off whatever hangs over on either end."**

 **"Ah," I said, swallowing hard. "Sensible."**

 **"I'm so glad to come across an intelligent customer!"**

Thalia chuckled weakly trying to calm the tension down.

 **The ropes were really stretching my friends now. Annabeth was turning pale. Grover made gurgling sounds, like a strangled goose.**

 **"So, Crusty ..." I said, trying to keep my voice light. I glanced at the sales tag on the valentine-shaped Honeymoon Special. "Does this one really have dynamic stabilizers to stop wave motion?"**

 **"Absolutely. Try it out."**

 **"Yeah, maybe I will. But would it work even for a big guy like you? No waves at all?"**

 **"Guaranteed."**

 **"No way."**

 **"Way."**

 **"Show me."**

Everyone gasped at the dawn of realization.

"Oooh! I got it!"

 **He sat down eagerly on the bed, patted the mattress. "No waves. See?"**

 **I snapped my fingers. "Ergo."**

 **Ropes lashed around Crusty and flattened him against the mattress.**

 **"Hey!" he yelled.**

 **"Center him just right," I said.**

 **The ropes readjusted themselves at my command. Crusty's whole head stuck out the top. His feet stuck out the bottom.**

 **"No!" he said. "Wait! This is just a demo."**

 **I uncapped Riptide. "A few simple adjustments ..."**

 **I had no qualms about what I was about to do. If Crusty were human, I couldn't hurt him anyway. If he was a monster, he deserved to turn into dust for a while.**

"Not for a 'while', I will make sure it will be a couple centuries." Poseidon said darkly.

"For the first time ever, I agree with Poseidon." Athena agreed.

Everyone look at Athena in shock even Posiedon and Zeus.

"What?"

"...Nothing. It just rare for you agree with me." Poseidon said.

Athena try not to blush.

"Oh.."

Aphrodite look at Athena with a grin.

 _Meet me after this chapter, Athena,_ Aphrodite said in her mind.

 _Okay Aphrodite_ , Athena replied.

 **"You drive a hard bargain," he told me. "I'll give you thirty percent off on selected floor models.'"**

 **"I think I'll start with the top." I raised my sword.**

 **"No money down! No interest for six months!"**

 **I swung the sword. Crusty stopped making offers.**

 **I cut the ropes on the other beds. Annabeth and Grover got to their feet, groaning and wincing and cursing me a lot.**

 **"You look taller," I said.**

Everyone chuckled.

 **"Very funny," Annabeth said. "Be faster next time."**

 **I looked at the bulletin board behind Crusty's sales desk. There was an advertisement for Hermes Delivery Service, and another for the All-New Compendium of L.A. Area Monsters—"The only Monstrous Yellow Pages you'll ever need!" Under that, a bright orange flier for DOA Recording Studios, offering commissions for heroes' souls. "We are always looking for new talent!" DOA's address was right underneath with a map.**

 **"Come on," I told my friends.**

 **"Give us a minute," Grover complained. "We were almost stretched to death."**

"Yeah." Leo said sarcastically.

 **"Then you're ready for the Underworld," I said. "It's only a block from here."**

"Finished." Katie said.

"Who want to read next?" Zeus asked.

"Me." Hazel said.

Katie handed over the book to Daughter of Pluto.

" **Annabeth Does Obedience School**." Hazel read out loud.


	19. Declaration of Athena and Poseidon

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

* * *

Athena stood up and walk a few feet from her throne. "Father, should we take a break?" Goddess of Wisdom asked her father patiently. Before her father respond, Athena interrupted. "I need to talk Aphrodite about my daughter's life love." Athena said and glared at Annabeth with a fake cold glare that anyone could notice that is fake, not even God of Thief could.

Annabeth paled and about to say something, but her mother beat her. "I do not approve that my daughter is in love with my rival's son." Athena said and flashed out and Aphrodite as well.

Annabeth look down at the floor in despair.

Athena look at the city below from Olympus with regret. I know that you must be thinking like ' _what?! Goddess Athena, Patron of the city of Athens, Mother of Owls and Zeus' daughter is regretting something?! That must be a lie!_ ' But it was the truth. She felt full of regret for destroying her own daughter's love life..Her own favoritism daughter in the future. She just wished that she could go back in time, but it not possible anymore.

Athena's grey eyes went despair and regret and her's grey eyes went dark grey with no happiness and pride just despair and regret. Her goddess's form started to flicker. Athena went mad at herself and she summoned a spear on her hand, it appears the spear is a long beautiful golden spear with a have a sharp tip at the top, on the top it has an owl symbol.

Athena look at her spear and then back off like five feet away from the edge and then she closed her eyes for a couple second and then opened them. She started to walk a little slow and then started to ran at her full speed, just a seven inches from the edge as before she jumped, she lift up the spear up above her shoulder and point her elbow slightly forward and turn her palm toward the sky. She lean back position by putting her right foot ahead, she pull her spear back a little further. She kept her right foot close to the ground. As her right foot moves forward, she move her left foot up and lean her truck back at 115-degree angle. As soon as her right foot is on the ground, her left leg is forward and elevated. She move her left leg forward and direct her shoulder and hip toward her target. As her left foot touch the ground, she straighten her torso and turn her face toward the direction that she wanted to throw. Her spear is parallel at her shoulders. As she got her chance she position her throwing hand above shoulder level. She jumped and threw her spear at the sky and flickers a little and then become like a lightning bolt, hit the middle of sky and below the sky, is a Empire State Building. The thunder rumbles and weather become stormy. The lightning stroke the Empire State Building.

Athena is just too angry at herself and then a sight of the single tear rolled from her cheek.

"Athena...Oh darling.." A voice said.

Athena froze. She knew this voice...A voice that she haven't heard for many eons.

"M-mother?" Athena stuttered.

"Yes, it me Athena." Metis smiled kindly and rise her arm for a hug.

Athena transformed into seven years old and ran toward her mother and hugged.

"Mommy! Mommy! I can't believe it! Your here, mommy!" Seven years old Athena said happily.

Metis chuckled softly and smiled kindly.

"Oh..Athena you seems so troubled..About something." Metis said kindly and gently sit down on the clean floor.

Athena look down in embarrassment, she didn't want her mother to see her own daughter confused. She just want her own mother to see her brave and fearless. Not hopeless.

"Athena...Don't be embarrassed. After all I'm your mother, I can help you. No matter what. I wished that I could help you...Like a real mother." Metis said sweetly and not rising her voice at all.

Athena took a deep breath.

"Do you know how love feels?" Athena asked.

Metis laughed softy.

"I do. It a wonderful feeling. You know...Love is love, even love can bow to wisdom sometime." Metis said.

Athena look at her mother in awed.

"Mommy, I...I think that I am in love." Athena said with a red face.

Metis laughed softly.

"That is why I am here. To tell you something about love."

Athena's eye lit up with happiness and pride with no despair and hopeless.

"Really?"

"Go to a man who you love. Give your confusion to your man, show him that you are in love with him. I won't rush or force you. After all, love can be powerful and peaceful. I have no regret that your father swallowed me. Because I have you. You are my favorite daughter unlike every daughter have."

Athena look at her mother and then started to cry a happy tears.

"I love you mommy." Athena hugged her mother.

Metis hugged her softly as she started to fade into stars.

"Remember Athena, I will be always watching you and stand on your side for the rest of your days." Metis declared and took her last breath and kissed her forehead gently.

"Goodbye Athena."

As her mother faded into stars Athena transformed back to her original age.

Athena kneeled at her mother's stars and then move her hand on her chest and rise her head at her mother's stars constellation.

"I will obey your wishes...Mother."

Athena flashed out and got to Poseidon.

Aphrodite walked out from the shadow with a smile on her face and then turn her head at Metis' stars constellation.

"Thanks you Metis."

Aphrodite flashed out.

Metis' stars shine a little brighter unlike the other stars even Artemis' huntresses who is on the stars.

"POSEIDON!" Athena yelled.

"Oh great...What I do now..." Poseidon grumbled.

Poseidon walked toward to Athena.

"Come here, we need to talk privately." Athena said.

Poseidon look at Athena in shock. She look different from before. She look like an angel from heaven.

"Poseidon your drooling! Is there something on my face?" Athena asked suspiciously.

Poseidon snap out of it and wipe off the drool.

"N-nothing Owl Head. I just thought about...Um...Blue Cookies?" Poseidon lied.

Athena rolled her eyes and knowing that Poseidon is lying, clearly Poseidon sucks at lying.

"Okay...Poseidon I have something to tell you." Athena said seriously.

"Uhh...Okay?"

"Ahem..." Athena coughed with a blush. "Poseidon..I'm in love with you."

Poseidon fainted.

"Poseidon! Oh my Gods, Oh my Gods, Oh my Gods, Oh my Gods! Don't tell me that he is dead."

Athena sighed.

"I'm sorry Poseidon..Forgive me."

 _SMAAACK!_

"OW!" Poseidon complained and rubbing his red hand mark from cheek. "What is that for?!"

"You fainted."

"What?"

"YOU LITERALLY FAINTED!"

"Oh my Gods. I have the weirdest dream that you said that you are in love with me. Pretty insane, right?"

Athena sighed.

"It real alright?"

"You got to be kidding me!"

"Do I look kidding?"

Poseidon knew that Athena don't play joke even she never understand it.

"Prove it."

Athena blushed.

"Here is your evidences, I will not repeat it again!"

"Wha—"

Athena kissed Poseidon's lip.

After a minute of kissing Athena break out from Poseidon's lip.

"Oh. My. Gods. Y-y-you kissed me!" Poseidon screamed.

"So? That was my first kiss." Athena shrugged.

"Mine too!" Poseidon protected.

"What? I thought that your wife Amphitrite...You know...Kisses you a lot." Athena said.

"Nope, she didn't. She betrayed me or you called it 'cheating' on me only a couple days after we married. ( **A/N: Just in my version. Y'know I hated her.** ) And then I declared a divorced and sent her to mortal world without her powers and immortality. And she died many eons ago."

"That foolish woman.." Athena muttered. "Too bad she gone, she should have faced my wrath."

Poseidon chuckled.

"I still have a ring...For who is worthy to become my wife."

Athena look at Poseidon in shock.

"You mean—"

Poseidon kneeled and opened the box.

"Athena..Would you make me a happiest and the luckiest man in world, I have been waiting for eons. Athena would you marry me?"

Athena trembled and started to cry in happiness.

"Why I should no? Yes! Oh my Gods, YES!"

Athena and Poseidon kissed and kissed.

Athena put her wedding ring on her left finger.

"We have announcement to make..." Athena smiled at Poseidon.

Poseidon chuckled.

"A big one."

Athena gasped with a dawn of realization.

"Poseidon! What about your brother?! Oh my Gods, this is bad.."

Poseidon chuckled at Athena's fear.

"Don't worry. I got it covered."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Good!" Athena beamed. "We are safe."

Athena walked back to Olympus council room.

Everyone stared at Athena's smile. It was pretty rare for them to saw Athena's smile.

Poseidon entered the room and walk toward the center of council room.

"Everyone, I have announcement to make. I'm getting married." Poseidon declared.

Olympians went into chaos while the Demigods look confused.

"Who are getting married?!" Zeus boomed.

"It's me, father."Athena smiled and show her ring front of council.

"Yes! After all those years! Putting you guys together!" Aphrodite squealed.

"What?! No! Your maiden vow!" Zeus thunderous.

"Father, I tricked you.. I vowed that I will never fell in love with anyone...Expect Poseidon."

Zeus look at his favorite daughter in betrayed.

"You...You...Betrayed me!"

Athena closed her eyes for moments and then opened them.

"Yes, I betrayed you. I will accept any punishment even if involved with death. But you never separated us. It our destiny, father."

Artemis raises her hand.

"I agree with Athena. You see, I made vow that I never fall in love only if someone is worthy like Perseus Jackson." Artemis declared.

Zeus look at his favorite daughter in betrayal.

"If you punish them, you will punish me."

Zeus sighed in defeat.

"Fine, you have win this round. There won't be a another betrayal again. If you betrayed me once again, I will sent you to Hades. I swear in River Styx."

The thunder boomed to sealed the oath.

Athena and Artemis beamed.

"Thanks you father. It won't happen again. I swear in River Styx." Athena promised.

The thunder rumbles to sealed the oath.

Zeus nodded with a satisfied expression.

"Good."

"Now, let have reading begins!"


	20. Annabeth Does Obedience School

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

Godess Bubbles: Thank you so much~! ;)

Sageofchaos: Thank you! :)

I'm so sorry that I haven't updated yet. ;-; God, screw the keyboard. Blame on my freakin' keyboard! Anyway I will try to update more! Oh! I almost forgot, thanks you for the those 101 follows and 75 favorites! TT^TT I'm crying...Oh my God! Thanks yooou! Gah! Fuck! One more thing, (frick, today I kept forgetting something important. I guess, that I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.) I was wondering if you guys want me to write the _Sea of Monsters_ or finding Percy Jackson? Please write a reviews to me about it.

* * *

Leo raise his eyebrows.

"Really Annabeth?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Oh shut up and read."

Leo snickered.

 **We stood in the shadows of Valencia Boulevard, looking up at gold letters etched in black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS.**

"Seriously?" Zeus raises his eyebrows at Hades.

"What? It my wife's idea."

 **Underneath, stenciled on the glass doors: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.**

"That...uh..." Leo voice trailed off.

"—Ridiculous. I know." Nico said.

 **It was almost midnight, but the lobby was brightly lit and full of people. Behind the security desk sat a tough-looking guard with sunglasses and an earpiece.**

 **I turned to my friends. "Okay. You remember the plan."**

"Oh fuck...I can feel you." Clarisse exclaimed, knowing that Percy's plan sucks.

Annabeth nodded grimly.

 **"The plan," Grover gulped. "Yeah. I love the plan."**

"Well...I don't." Clarisse muttered.

 **Annabeth said, "What happens if the plan doesn't work?"**

"Oh why...Why I'm getting a bad feeling about this...?"

 **"Don't think negative."**

"This is bad." Clarisse shook her head disbelief. " _Really_ bad."

Clarisse look at Annabeth in a pity.

 **"Right," she said. "We're entering the Land of the Dead, and I shouldn't think negative."**

Clarisse sighed.

 **I took the pearls out of my pocket, the three milky spheres the Nereid had given me in Santa Monica. They didn't seem like much of a backup in case something went wrong.**

"Know it." Clarisse sighed.

Almost everyone stared at her.

"What?"

"Would you shut up? At least for once?!" Connor asked.

Clarisse deadpanned.

 **Annabeth put her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Percy. You're right, we'll make it. It'll be fine."**

"That is the sign for something bad going to bad." Clarisse said.

"WOULD YOU EVEN SHUT UP FOR ONCE!?"

 **She gave Grover a nudge.**

 **"Oh, right!" he chimed in. "We got this far. We'll find the master bolt and save your mom. No problem."**

Poseidon groaned.

Hades grinned.

 **I looked at them both, and felt really grateful. Only a few minutes before, I'd almost gotten them stretched to death on deluxe water beds, and now they were trying to be brave for my sake, trying to make me feel better.**

Hestia smiled kindly. _Good friend...Good friend..._

 **I slipped the pearls back in my pocket. "Let's whup some Underworld butt."**

Everyone chuckled expect for Hades who look offended.

 **We walked inside the DOA lobby.**

 **Muzak played softly on hidden speakers. The carpet and walls were steel gray. Pencil cactuses grew in the corners like skeleton hands. The furniture was black leather, and every seat was taken. There were people sitting on couches, people standing up, people staring out the windows or waiting for the elevator. Nobody moved, or talked, or did much of anything. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see them all just fine, but if I focused on any one of them in particular, they started looking ... transparent. I could see right through their bodies.**

 **The security guard's desk was a raised podium, so we had to look up at him.**

 **He was tall and elegant, with chocolate-colored skin and bleached-blond hair shaved military style. He wore tortoiseshell shades and a silk Italian suit that matched his hair. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag.**

 **I read the name tag, then looked at him in bewilderment. "Your name is Chiron?"**

Everyone facepalmed. _How he could be this stupid?_

 **He leaned across the desk. I couldn't see anything in his glasses except my own reflection, but his smile was sweet and cold, like a pythons, right before it eats you.**

 **"What a precious young lad." He had a strange accent—British, maybe, but also as if he had learned English as a second language. "Tell me, mate, do I look like a centaur?"**

"No, dumbass." Hades rolled his eyes.

 **"N-no."**

 **"Sir," he added smoothly**.

"'Smoothly'?! What the fuck?!" Hades yelled and showing that he is dissatisfied at Charon.

 **"Sir," I said.**

 **He pinched the name tag and ran his finger under the letters. "Can you read this, mate? It says C-H-A-R-O-N. Say it with me: CARE-ON."**

"What is this? Kindergarten?" Clarisse taunted angrily.

 **"Charon."**

 **"Amazing! Now: Mr. Charon."**

"Okay, this is official. I hate him."

 **"Mr. Charon," I said.**

 **"Well done." He sat back. "I hate being confused with that old horse-man. And now, how may I help you little dead ones?"**

 **His question caught in my stomach like a fastball. I looked at Annabeth for support.**

Clarisse sighed.

"I knew this will happen..."

 **"We want to go the Underworld," she said.**

 **Charon's mouth twitched. "Well, that's refreshing."**

 **"It is?" she asked.**

 **"Straightforward and honest. No screaming. No 'There must be a mistake, Mr. Charon.'" He looked us over. "How did you die, then?"**

 **I nudged Grover.**

 **"Oh," he said. "Um ... drowned ... in the bathtub."**

The room went silence and then went full of laughter.

"WHAT...THE ...FUCK?!" Leo cracked up between laughter.

"All three of you?" Charon asked. We nodded.

"There is no way in hell that Charon will believe it." Hades snorted.

 **"Big bathtub." Charon looked mildly impressed. "I don't suppose you have coins for passage. Normally, with adults, you see, I could charge your American Express, or add the ferry price to your last cable bill. But with children ... alas, you never die prepared. Suppose you'll have to take a seat for a few centuries."**

 **"Oh, but we have coins." I set three golden drachmas on the counter, part of the stash I'd found in Crusty's office desk.**

 **"Well, now ..." Charon moistened his lips. "Real drachmas. Real golden drachmas. I haven't seen these in ..."**

"For three millennia.." Hades muttered.

 **His fingers hovered greedily over the coins.**

Everyone expect Hades and Nico shuddered.

 **We were so close.**

 **Then Charon looked at me. That cold stare behind his glasses seemed to bore a hole through my chest. "Here now," he said. "You couldn't read my name correctly. Are you dyslexic, lad?"**

 **"No," I said. "I'm dead."**

"Idiot. Then he knew that your alive." Hades muttered about stupid kids.

 **Charon leaned forward and took a sniff. "You're not dead. I should've known. You're a godling."**

 **"We have to get to the Underworld," I insisted.**

 **Charon made a growling sound deep in his throat.**

 **Immediately, all the people in the waiting room got up and started pacing, agitated, lighting cigarettes, running hands through their hair, or checking their wristwatches.**

 **"Leave while you can," Charon told us. "I'll just take these and forget I saw you."**

Hades jaw dropped and then become pissed.

"CHARON! YOU DAMNED MOTHERFUCKER! YOU SHOULD'VE KEEP THEM AND THEN BRI—"

Two sons of Rhea and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named glared at Hades murderously and you could sense an dark aura surrounded them. Nearly everyone tried to move away from them.

Hades chuckled nervously.

"Kidding..." Hades lied weakly.

 **He started to go for the coins, but I snatched them back.**

 **"No service, no tip." I tried to sound braver than I felt.**

 **Charon growled again—a deep, blood-chilling sound. The spirits of the dead started pounding on the elevator doors.**

 **"It's a shame, too," I sighed. "We had more to offer."**

Hades gasped dramatically.

"Oh no..."

 **I held up the entire bag from Crusty's stash. I took out a fistful of drachmas and let the coins spill through my fingers.**

 **Charon's growl changed into something more like a lion's purr. "Do you think I can be bought, godling? Eh ... just out of curiosity, how much have you got there?"**

 **"A lot," I said. "I bet Hades doesn't pay you well enough for such hard work."**

Hades groaned and muttered about damned Poseidon's kid.

 **"Oh, you don't know the half of it. How would you like to babysit these spirits all day? Always 'Please don't let me be dead' or 'Please let me across for free.' I haven't had a pay raise in three thousand years. Do you imagine suits like this come cheap?"**

 **"You deserve better," I agreed. "A little appreciation. Respect. Good pay."**

"NO!" Hades cried. "THAT DAMNED ITALIAN SUIT! CURSED THEM!"

Two sons and three daughters of Rhea and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named stared at Hades blankly.

"What? It horrible.." Hades shivered.

 **With each word, I stacked another gold coin on the counter.**

 **Charon glanced down at his silk Italian jacket, as if imagining himself in something even better. "I must say, lad, you're making some sense now. Just a little."**

 **I stacked another few coins. "I could mention a pay raise while I'm talking to Hades."**

"Oh he better not..." Hades muttered.

 **He sighed. "The boat's almost full, anyway. I might as well add you three and be off."**

 **He stood, scooped up our money, and said, "Come along."**

 **We pushed through the crowd of waiting spirits, who started grabbing at our clothes like the wind, their voices whispering things I couldn't make out. Charon shoved them out of the way, grumbling, "Freeloaders."**

 **He escorted us into the elevator, which was already crowded with souls of the dead, each one holding a green boarding pass. Charon grabbed two spirits who were trying to get on with us and pushed them back into the lobby.**

 **"Right. Now, no one get any ideas while I'm gone," he announced to the waiting room. "And if anyone moves the dial off my easy-listening station again, I'll make sure you're here for another thousand years. Understand?"**

"Harsh.." Jason muttered.

 **He shut the doors. He put a key card into a slot in the elevator panel and we started to descend.**

 **"What happens to the spirits waiting in the lobby?" Annabeth asked.**

 **"Nothing," Charon said.**

"Seriously 'nothing'?" Jason asked. "I don't think that isn't nothing."

 **"For how long?"**

 **"Forever, or until I'm feeling generous."**

"Hades, since when—"

Hades cut off Zeus sentence.

"End of the story." Hades warned. "If you dare...Your children will be Underworld hereafter for eternity."

 **"Oh," she said. "That's ... fair."**

 **Charon raised an eyebrow. "Whoever said death was fair, young miss? Wait until it's your turn. You'll die soon enough, where you're going."**

 **"We'll get out alive," I said.**

 **"Ha."**

Poseidon growled.

 **I got a sudden dizzy feeling. We weren't going down anymore, but forward. The air turned misty. Spirits around me started changing shape. Their modern clothes flickered, turning into gray hooded robes. The floor of the elevator began swaying.**

 **I blinked hard. When I opened my eyes, Charon's creamy Italian suit had been replaced by a long black robe. His tortoiseshell glasses were gone. Where his eyes should've been were empty sockets—like Ares's eyes, except Charon's were totally dark, full of night and death and despair.**

 **He saw me looking, and said, "Well?"**

 **"Nothing," I managed.**

 **I thought he was grinning, but that wasn't it. The flesh of his face was becoming transparent, letting me see straight through to his skull.**

 **The floor kept swaying.**

 **Grover said, "I think I'm getting seasick."**

"Seasick? I think it airsick." Jason said.

Leo snickered.

"No it's 'elevator-sick'!" Leo laughed hysterically. "Oh Gods, I hate even breathe! Oh my Gods!"

Jason look at Leo and gave him a weird look.

 **When I blinked again, the elevator wasn't an elevator anymore. We were standing in a wooden barge. Charon was poling us across a dark, oily river, swirling with bones, dead fish, and other, stranger things—plastic dolls, crushed carnations, soggy diplomas with gilt edges.**

Everyone expect for Hades and other people who been on the underworld before gasped in horror.

"H-how?" Zeus stammered.

Hades shrugged.

"Mortals."

 **"The River Styx," Annabeth murmured. "It's so ..."**

 **"Polluted," Charon said. "For thousands of years, you humans have been throwing in everything as you come across—hopes, dreams, wishes that never came true. Irresponsible waste management, if you ask me."**

"Bastard!" Artemis roared. "BASTARD MORTALS!"

 **Mist curled off the filthy water. Above us, almost lost in the gloom, was a ceiling of stalactites. Ahead, the far shore glimmered with greenish light, the color of poison.**

When someone heard this their face turn green.

 **Panic closed up my throat. What was I doing here? These people around me ... they were dead.**

"No shit Sherlock." Thalia said sarcastically.

 **Annabeth grabbed hold of my hand.**

Hades groaned and foreknew what is going to happen.

"EVERYONE COVERED YOUR EARS! Hades shouted.

Everyone groaned and then quickly covered their ears.

Aphrodite squealed so loud.

"Percabeth! PERCABETH FOR LIFE!" Aphrodite screamed like a fan girl who wanted a kiss from their idols.

"WOMAN! SHOULD YOU EVEN SHUT THE HELL UP!" Hades shouted.

After a thirteen minutes of 'Aphrodite-fan-girl-screaming'.

"Woman...Are you done yet...?" Hades groaned. "I think I have lost a hair cell.."

Aphrodite pouted.

 **Under normal circumstances, this would've embarrassed me, but I understood how she felt. She wanted reassurance that somebody else was alive on this boat.**

 **I found myself muttering a prayer, though I wasn't quite sure who I was praying to. Down here, only one god mattered, and he was the one I had come to confront.**

 **The shoreline of the Underworld came into view. Craggy rocks and black volcanic sand stretched inland about a hundred yards to the base of a high stone wall, which marched off in either direction as far as we could see. A sound came from somewhere nearby in the green gloom, echoing off the stones—the howl of a large animal.**

"Oh no." Poseidon paled. "Cerberus...Why my son get a worst luck?"

 **"Old Three-Face is hungry," Charon said. His smile turned skeletal in the greenish light. "Bad luck for you, godlings."**

"Could you be helpful for once?!" Poseidon said angrily. "He is going to Hades to tell him to pay a raise!"

 **The bottom of our boat slid onto the black sand. The dead began to disembark. A woman holding a little girl's hand. An old man and an old woman hobbling along arm in arm. A boy no older than I was, shuffling silently along in his gray robe.**

 **Charon said, "I'd wish you luck, mate, but there isn't any down here. Mind you, don't forget to mention my pay raise."**

"Bastard.." Hades growled.

 **He counted our golden coins into his pouch, then took up his pole. He warbled something that sounded like a Barry Manilow song as he ferried the empty barge back across the river.**

 **We followed the spirits up a well-worn path.**

 **I'm not sure what I was expecting—Pearly Gates, or a big black portcullis, or something. But the entrance to the Underworld looked like a cross between airport security and the Jersey Turnpike.**

 **There were three separate entrances under one huge black archway that said YOU ARE NOW ENTERING EREBUS. Each entrance had a pass-through metal detector with security cameras mounted on top. Beyond this were tollbooths manned by black-robed ghouls like Charon.**

 **The howling of the hungry animal was really loud now, but I couldn't see where it was coming from. The three-headed dog, Cerberus, who was supposed to guard Hades's door, was nowhere to be seen.**

Hades rolled his eyes. _Fool._

 **The dead queued up in the three lines, two marked ATTENDANT ON DUTY, and one marked EZ DEATH. The EZ DEATH line was moving right along. The other two were crawling.**

 **"What do you figure?" I asked Annabeth.**

 **"The fast line must go straight to the Asphodel Fields," she said. "No contest. They don't want to risk judgment from the court, because it might go against them."**

 **"There's a court for dead people?"**

"Duh."

 **"Yeah. Three judges. They switch around who sits on the bench. King Minos—**

Nico growled. _That bastard!_

 **—Thomas Jefferson, Shakespeare—people like that. Sometimes they look at a life and decide that person needs a special reward—the Fields of Elysium. Sometimes they decide on punishment. But most people, well, they just lived. Nothing special, good or bad. So they go to the Asphodel Fields."**

 **"And do what?"**

Nico About is say something, but Thalia covered his mouth.

"Don't." Thalia warned. "Or I will kick your ass to the sun didn't shine."

 **Grover said, "Imagine standing in a wheat field in Kansas. Forever."**

"Oh Gods." Clarisse said in fear.

 **"Harsh," I said.**

 **"Not as harsh as that," Grover muttered. "Look."**

 **A couple of black-robbed ghouls had pulled aside one spirit and were frisking him at the security desk. The face of the dead man looked vaguely familiar.**

 **"He's that preacher who made the news, remember?" Grover asked.**

 **"Oh, yeah." I did remember now. We'd seen him on TV a couple of times at the Yancy Academy dorm. He was this annoying televangelist from upstate New York who'd raised millions of dollars for orphanages and then got caught spending the money on stuff for his mansion, like gold-plated toilet seats, and an indoor putt-putt golf course.**

Hestia growled. _Bastard!_

 **He'd died in a police chase when his "Lamborghini for the Lord" went off a cliff.**

 **I said, "What're they doing to him?"**

 **"Special punishment from Hades," Grover guessed. "The really bad people get his personal attention as soon as they arrive. The Fur—the Kindly Ones will set up an eternal torture for him."**

Everyone shivered.

 **The thought of the Furies made me shudder. I realized I was in their home territory now. Old Mrs. Dodds would be licking her lips with anticipation.**

 **"But if he's a preacher," I said, "and he believes in a different hell... ."**

"Wow. That is the first time ever I heard that he actually use the 'h' word." Nico said.

"So? It good for him." Hera smirked.

 **Grover shrugged. "Who says he's seeing this place the way we're seeing it? Humans see what they want to see. You're very stubborn—er, persistent, that way."**

 **We got closer to the gates. The howling was so loud now it shook the ground at my feet, but I still couldn't figure out where it was coming from.**

 **Then, about fifty feet in front of us, the green mist shimmered. Standing just where the path split into three lanes was an enormous shadowy monster.**

 **I hadn't seen it before because it was half transparent, like the dead. Until it moved, it blended with whatever was behind it. Only its eyes and teeth looked solid. And it was staring straight at me.**

 **My jaw hung open. All I could think to say was, "She's a Rottweiler."**

 **I'd always imagined Cerberus as a big black mastiff. But she was obviously a purebred Rottweiler, except of course that she was twice the size of a woolly mammoth, mostly invisible, and had three heads.**

There is no comment on that. Because the room is full of tension.

 **The dead walked right up to her—no fear at all. The ATTENDANT ON DUTY lines parted on either side of her. The EZ DEATH spirits walked right between her front paws and under her belly, which they could do without even crouching.**

 **"I'm starting to see her better," I muttered. "Why is that?"**

 **"I think ..." Annabeth moistened her lips. "I'm afraid it's because we're getting closer to being dead."**

"Fool. You are on my territory now. If your a Demigod, that mean you could actually see my realm of the dead. For mortals..They see thousands of hellfire and their worst nightmare! Sound pretty gorgeous, right?!" Hades said happily and Nico beamed. While everyone paled and some Aphrodite's kids fainted.

 **The dog's middle head craned toward us. It sniffed the air and growled.**

 **"It can smell the living," I said.**

"Yeah duh." Nico said stupidity.

 **"But that's okay," Grover said, trembling next to me. "Because we have a plan."**

"I got a bad feeling about this plan.." Athena muttered.

 **"Right," Annabeth said. I'd never heard her voice sound quite so small. "A plan."**

 **We moved toward the monster.**

"A 'MONSTER'?! PERCY JACKSON SHE IS NOT A MONSTER! YOU IDIOT!" Nico yelled in rage.

 **The middle head snarled at us, then barked so loud my eyeballs rattled.**

 **"Can you understand it?" I asked Grover.**

 **"Oh yeah," he said. "I can understand it."**

 **"What's it saying?"**

 **"I don't think humans have a four-letter word that translates, exactly."**

Hades and Nico snickered.

 **I took the big stick out of my backpack—a bedpost I'd broken off Crusty's Safari Deluxe floor model. I held it up, and tried to channel happy dog thoughts toward Cerberus—Alpo commercials, cute little puppies, fire hydrants. I tried to smile, like I wasn't about to die.**

"Stupid." Annabeth muttered.

 **"Hey, Big Fella," I called up. "I bet they don't play with you much."**

 **"GROWWWLLLL!"**

"Bad...That is bad." Poseidon said weakly.

 **"Good boy," I said weakly.**

 **I waved the stick. The dog's middle head followed the movement. The other two heads trained their eyes on me, completely ignoring the spirits. I had Cerberus's undivided attention. I wasn't sure that was a good thing.**

 **"Fetch!" I threw the stick into the gloom, a good solid throw. I heard it go ker-sploosh in the River Styx.**

At this point everyone laughed hysterically, and it took about half hour to calm down.

 **Cerberus glared at me, unimpressed. Her (A/N: Cerberus is a girl..I don't why, but I just imagine Cerberus is a female...Don't even ask...) eyes were baleful and cold.**

 **So much for the plan.**

"Knew it." Athena sighed.

 **Cerberus was now making a new kind of growl, deeper down in her three throats.**

 **"Um," Grover said. "Percy?"**

 **"Yeah?"**

 **"I just thought you'd want to know."**

 **"Yeah?"**

 **"Cerberus? She's saying we've got ten seconds to pray to the god of our choice. After that... well ... She's hungry."**

"HADES YOU BASTARD!" Poseidon growled.

Hades gulped knowing this might be the last time that he'll see the sun again.

"Poseidon!" Athena warned. "Calm your temper. Or I won't kiss you for a week."

Poseidon stuttered.

"W-w-w-what?!"

Athena raises her eyebrows dangerously.

"Are you questioning me?"

"N-no!"

Poseidon sit down on his throne and glared at Hades like I-will-kill-you-later glare.

 **"Wait!" Annabeth said. She started rifling through her pack.**

 **Uh-oh, I thought.**

"What?" Annabeth asked.

 **"Five seconds," Grover said. "Do we run now?"**

 **Annabeth produced a red rubber ball the size of a grapefruit. It was labeled WATERLAND, DENVER, CO. Before I could stop her, she raised the ball and marched straight up to Cerberus.**

 **She shouted, "See the ball? You want the ball, Cerberus? Sit!"**

Hades snorted. _Like that will happen._

 **Cerberus looked as stunned as we were.**

Hades jaw dropped. _What?!_

 **All three of her heads cocked sideways. Six nostrils dilated.**

 **"Sit!" Annabeth called again.**

 **I was sure that any moment she would become the world's largest Milkbone dog biscuit.**

Everyone expect for Hades who like offended, laughed.

 **But instead, Cerberus licked her three sets of lips, shifted on her haunches, and sat, immediately crushing a dozen spirits who'd been passing underneath her in the EZ DEATH line. The spirits made muffled hisses as they dissipated, like the air let out of tires.**

 **Annabeth said, "Good boy!"**

 **She threw Cerberus the ball.**

 **She caught it in her middle mouth. It was barely big enough for her to chew, and the other heads started snapping at the middle, trying to get the new toy.**

 **"Drop it.'" Annabeth ordered.**

 **Cerberus's heads stopped fighting and looked at her. The ball was wedged between two of her teeth like a tiny piece of gum. She made a loud, scary whimper, then dropped the ball, now slimy and bitten nearly in half, at Annabeth's feet.**

Athena paled.

 **"Good boy." She picked up the ball, ignoring the monster spit all over it.**

Aphrodite and her children wrinkled their nose in disgust.

 **She turned toward us. "Go now. EZ DEATH line—it's faster."**

 **I said, "But—"**

 **"Now.'" She ordered, in the same tone she was using on the dog.**

The Demigods sighed.

 **Grover and I inched forward warily.**

 **Cerberus started to growl.**

 **"Stay!" Annabeth ordered the monster. "If you want the ball, stay!"**

 **Cerberus whimpered, but she stayed where she was.**

 **"What about you?" I asked Annabeth as we passed her.**

 **"I know what I'm doing, Percy," she muttered. "At least, I'm pretty sure... ."**

"...I'm guessing that is a no."

"Oh shut up Stolls."

 **Grover and I walked between the monster's legs.**

 **Please, Annabeth, I prayed. Don't tell her to sit again.**

"Oh Gods. Please don't." Poseidon whimpered.

 **We made it through. Cerberus wasn't any less scary-looking from the back.**

Everyone chuckled.

 **Annabeth said, "Good dog!"**

 **She held up the tattered red ball, and probably came to the same conclusion I did—if she rewarded Cerberus, there'd be nothing left for another trick.**

 **She threw the ball anyway. The monster's left mouth immediately snatched it up, only to be attacked by the middle head, while the right head moaned in protest.**

 **While the monster was distracted, Annabeth walked briskly under its belly and joined us at the metal detector.**

 **"How did you do that?" I asked her, amazed.**

 **"Obedience school," she said breathlessly, and I was surprised to see there were tears in her eyes.**

Everyone expect for Athena look at Annabeth in a pity look.

 **"When I was little, at my dad's house, we had a Doberman... ."**

 **"Never mind that," Grover said, tugging at my shirt. "Come on!"**

 **We were about to bolt through the EZ DEATH line when Cerberus moaned pitifully from all three mouths. Annabeth stopped.**

 **She turned to face the dog, which had done a one-eighty to look at us.**

 **Cerberus panted expectantly, the tiny red ball in pieces in a puddle of drool at its feet.**

 **"Good boy," Annabeth said, but her voice sounded melancholy and uncertain.**

 **The monster's heads turned sideways, as if worried about her.**

 **"I'll bring you another ball soon," Annabeth promised faintly. "Would you like that?"**

Nico look like going to cry. He just love Cerberus, but she died by giving birth to her pups few years ago. ( **Just in my version..** )

 **The monster whimpered. I didn't need to speak dog to know Cerberus was still waiting for the ball.**

Nico burst in tears, everyone stared at Nico in shock like they haven't seen Nico cried before not since Bianca di Angelo's death, but most of them were their first time ever.

 **"Good dog. I'll come visit you soon. I—I promise." Annabeth turned to us. "Let's go."**

 **Grover and I pushed through the metal detector, which immediately screamed and set off flashing red lights. "Unauthorized possessions! Magic detected!"**

 **Cerberus started to bark.**

Nico is still crying.

 **We burst through the EZ DEATH gate, which started even more alarms blaring, and raced into the Underworld.**

 **A few minutes later, we were hiding, out of breath, in the rotten trunk of an immense black tree as security ghouls scuttled past, yelling for backup from the Furies.**

"Oh no.."

 **Grover murmured, "Well, Percy, what have we learned today?"**

 **"That three-headed dogs prefer red rubber balls over sticks?"**

 **"No," Grover told me. "We've learned that your plans really, really bite!"**

"True." The Demigods chorused who experienced Percy's plan before.

 **I wasn't sure about that. I thought maybe Annabeth and I had both had the right idea. Even here in the Underworld, everybody—even monsters—needed a little attention once in a while.**

 **I thought about that as we waited for the ghouls to pass. I pretended not to see Annabeth wipe a tear from her cheek as she listened to the mournful keening of Cerberus in the distance, longing for her new friend.**

"Son...What is the matter with you?" Hades asked with a worried face.

"Cerberus.." Nico said sadly and some slight tears is rolling down of his cheek.

"Yes...What about her?" Hades asked.

"She died three years ago."

"WHAT?! YOUR TELLING ME THAT A SOME SCUMBAG DEMIGODS KILLED HER?! THAT SON OF—"

"—No! That isn't about that. I'm saying that...She died during the childbirth by giving birth to her pups. Only one of them have survived, but three of them didn't make it..." Nico cried.

Hades paled.

"Y-your telling she that she got pregnant with some bastard who raped her?"

Nico gasped in horror.

"No! Fuck no! She used Lady Hecate's magic by making her pregnant!"

That leave Hades speechless.

"Are you guys done yet?" Hazel asked.

"I guess..." Nico said.

"Who want to read next?" Zeus asked.

"Me." Athena said.

Hazel handed over the book to Goddess of Wisdom.

" **We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of**." Athena read out loud.


	21. We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

Godess Bubbles: Yeah...I cried like an idiot...*chuckled awkwardly* I'm kinda famous for ((In my world)) making sad stories ((Now that is true)) and sad ending.

Anyway...Say I'm very disappointed for no reviews for the sequel...:| Furthermore this is YOUR last chance. Or I'll pick.

Warning for sexual mentions and mature strong language and abuse scenes and blood gore. ((good thing Ares ain't here...)) Now you have been warned...

* * *

"Really?!" Leo said happily but then his happiness vanished. "Wait the minute..."

Everyone laughed at Leo's childish behavior.

 **Imagine the largest concert crowd you've ever seen, a football field packed with a million fans.**

"Hmm...Imagine..." Leo hummed.

Jason and some others give Leo a weird look like what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you look.

 **Now imagine a field a million times that big, packed with people, and imagine the electricity has gone out, and there is no noise, no light, no beach ball bouncing around over the crowd.**

Leo paled.

"NOOOOOO! SKITTLES! NOOOOOOO!" Leo cried dramatically and then sulking at the corner of the room like an anime-style. "M-my S-S-Skittles..." Leo continuing sobbing dramatically at the corner of the room.

"Connor and Travis...Do you steal Leo's Skittles again?" Piper sighed.

"Nope." Connor said innocently.

Piper raises her eyebrows in suspiciously look.

"Really? What if I charmspeak on you and made you eat snickers for a couple weeks?"

Connor and Travis gasped dramatically.

"WE WILL DO ANYTHING, BUT NOT EATING SNICKERS BARS!" Travis begged.

Piper smirked evilly.

"Anything?"

"We swear on the River Styx."Travis and Connor said fearfully and couldn't shake a bad feeling about this.

The thunder boomed to sealed the oath.

"I want you to do no more pranks for Aphrodite cabin for three month or if you choose not to I'll made you eat it."

"WHAT?! FUCK NOOOO!" Connor cried.

"YOU EVIL BASTARD!" Travis yelled and trembling.

Piper grinned evilly.

"You promised."

"Bastard. I will be you regret this..." Travis growled.

 **Something tragic has happened backstage. Whispering masses of people are just milling around in the shadows, waiting for a concert that will never start.**

 **If you can picture that, you have a pretty good idea what the Fields of Asphodel looked like. The black grass had been trampled by eons of dead feet. A warm, moist wind blew like the breath of a swamp. Black trees—Grover told me they were poplars—grew in clumps here and there.**

"...I don't feel so good..." Some Aphrodite's kid moaned as their face turn green.

 **The cavern ceiling was so high above us it might've been a bank of storm clouds, except for the stalactites, which glowed faint gray and looked wickedly pointed. I tried not to imagine they'd fall on us at any moment, but dotted around the fields were several that had fallen and impaled themselves in the black grass. I guess the dead didn't have to worry about little hazards like being speared by stalactites the size of booster rockets.**

 **Annabeth, Grover, and I tried to blend into the crowd, keeping an eye out for security ghouls.**

"I don't think will work..." Daughter of Ares said sarcastically.

 **I couldn't help looking for familiar faces among the spirits of Asphodel, but the dead are hard to look at. Their faces shimmer. They all look slightly angry or confused. They will come up to you and speak, but their voices sound like chatter, like bats twittering. Once they realize you can't understand them, they frown and move away.**

 **The dead aren't scary. They're just sad.**

"Really? I thought..." Leo muttered quietly.

Hades snorted.

"That is just some mortal's bastard legend."

 **We crept along, following the line of new arrivals that snaked from the main gates toward a black-tented pavilion with a banner that read:**

 ** _JUDGMENTS FOR ELYSIUM AND ETERNAL DAMNATION_**

 ** _Welcome, Newly Deceased!_**

"What the..." Leo's voice trailed off.

"I know I know..It stupid, but that is my wife's idea." Hades glared at Leo.

 **Out the back of the tent came two much smaller lines.**

 **To the left, spirits flanked by security ghouls were marched down a rocky path toward the Fields of Punishment, which glowed and smoked in the distance, a vast, cracked wasteland with rivers of lava and minefields and miles of barbed wire separating the different torture areas. Even from far away, I could see people being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through cactus patches or listen to opera music. I could just make out a tiny hill, with the ant-size figure of Sisyphus struggling to move his boulder to the top.**

Almost everyone face turned green.

"I don't feel so good..." Some Aphrodite's kid muttered before she vomited.

 **And I saw worse tortures, too—things I don't want to describe.**

"Oh thanks the Gods..." Aphrodite said fearfully.

 **The line coming from the right side of the judgment pavilion was much better. This one led down toward a small valley surrounded by walls—a gated community, which seemed to be the only happy part of the Underworld. Beyond the security gate were neighborhoods of beautiful houses from every time period in history, Roman villas and medieval castles and Victorian mansions.**

"Elysium.." Demigods said dreamily.

 **Silver and gold flowers bloomed on the lawns. The grass rippled in rainbow colors. I could hear laughter and smell barbecue cooking.**

 **Elysium.**

 **In the middle of that valley was a glittering blue lake, with three small islands like a vacation resort in the Bahamas. The Isles of the Blest, for people who had chosen to be reborn three times, and three times achieved Elysium. Immediately I knew that's where I wanted to go when I died.**

"Yes, you definitely will. Since your a hero of Titan and the Giant War. Plus, your a legendary hero even better and greater then that asshole Hercules.." Leo said bitterly when he said 'Hercules', he heard from Piper and Jason that Hercules is most selfish and bullshit hero in the Greek and Roman history. Even the Morals think that Hercules is a hero. Which he is NOT.

Zeus frowned when Leo mentioned his son, Hercules.

 **"That's what it's all about," Annabeth said, like she was reading my thoughts. "That's the place for heroes."**

"Yup." Leo smiled.

 **But I thought of how few people there were in Elysium, how tiny it was compared to the Fields of Asphodel or even the Fields of Punishment. So few people did good in their lives. It was depressing.**

Aphrodite nodded in agreement.

"Hades is very greedy person...And cruel."

"HEY!"

"It true."

"Bastard."

Aphrodite smiled kindly, but didn't let her fool you she is pissed.

"What do you mean..Hades?"

"...You know what? I'm going to shut up right now."

 **We left the judgment pavilion and moved deeper into the Asphodel Fields. It got darker. The colors faded from our clothes. The crowds of chattering spirits began to thin.**

 **After a few miles of walking, we began to hear a familiar screech in the distance. Looming on the horizon was a palace of glittering black obsidian. Above the parapets swirled three dark batlike creatures: the Furies. I got the feeling they were waiting for us.**

 **"I suppose it's too late to turn back," Grover said wistfully.**

"Grover...Grover..." Clarisse sighed.

 **"We'll be okay." I tried to sound confident.**

"...Why I have a very bad feeling about this?" Poseidon said nervously. He didn't like this feeling.

 **"Maybe we should search some of the other places first," Grover suggested. "Like, Elysium, for instance ..."**

 **"Come on, goat boy." Annabeth grabbed his arm.**

 **Grover yelped. His sneakers sprouted wings and his legs shot forward, pulling him away from Annabeth. He landed flat on his back in the grass.**

The room went quiet for a minute.

 **"Grover," Annabeth chided. "Stop messing around."**

 **"But I didn't—"**

Apollo the raining cloud frowned. _He ain't lying..And those shoes...Crap! I sound like Athena!_ Apollo shrugged dumbly. _I guess that I hung out Athena too much._

Athena paled, she figured the riddle from Nereid's warning. _Those shoes...They are cursed._

 **He yelped again. His shoes were flapping like crazy now. They levitated off the ground and started dragging him away from us.**

 **"Maia!" he yelled, but the magic word seemed to have no effect. "Maia, already! Nine-one-one! Help!"**

"Really Grover?" Thalia laughed nervously, trying to lift up the tension it almost like she couldn't even breathe. It much...

 **I got over being stunned and made a grab for Grover's hand, but too late. He was picking up speed, skidding downhill like a bobsled.**

Everyone is getting nervous.

 **We ran after him.**

 **Annabeth shouted, "Untie the shoes!"**

"Please do." Nico said.

 **It was a smart idea, but I guess it's not so easy when your shoes are pulling you along feetfirst at full speed. Grover tried to sit up, but he couldn't get close to the laces.**

 **We kept after him, trying to keep him in sight as he ripped between the legs of spirits who chattered at him in annoyance.**

 **I was sure Grover was going to barrel straight through the gates of Hades's palace, but his shoes veered sharply to the right and dragged him in the opposite direction.**

Hades, Demeter, and Nico paled. _Tartarus..!_

 **The slope got steeper. Grover picked up speed. Annabeth and I had to sprint to keep up. The cavern walls narrowed on either side, and I realized we'd entered some kind of side tunnel. No black grass or trees now, just rock underfoot, and the dim light of the stalactites above.**

 **"Grover!" I yelled, my voice echoing. "Hold on to something!"**

"Please do it, now!" Nico yelled.

 **"What?" he yelled back.**

"DAMMIT, HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!"

 **He was grabbing at gravel, but there was nothing big enough to slow him down.**

 **The tunnel got darker and colder. The hairs on my arms bristled. It smelled evil down here. It made me think of things I shouldn't even know about—blood spilled on an ancient stone altar, the foul breath of a murderer.**

Everyone paled.

"Father...!? Fuck, he is leading Perseus to his trap!" Poseidon yelled furiously.

 **Then I saw what was ahead of us, and I stopped dead in my tracks.**

 **The tunnel widened into a huge dark cavern, and in the middle was a chasm the size of a city block.**

Nico and Annabeth shivered in fact they haven't got over their trauma from that hellhole pit. _Tartarus...!_

 **Grover was sliding straight toward the edge.**

"AAAAAAAH!" Annabeth screamed from that flashback before Percy and her fell into Tartarus.

Everyone look concerned about her.

"What is going on?" Athena asked with a concern.

"Her past." Clarisse said darkly.

"What do you mean by 'her past'?" Athena asked.

"Before she fell into Tartarus." Thalia said sadly.

"WHAT?! YOUR TELLING ME THAT SHE FELL INTO THAT HELLHOLE ALONE?!" Athena roared.

"No...She fell along with Percy."

Poseidon paled.

"M-m-my son fell into Tartarus...?"

Thalia nodded sadly.

"He is willing to do anything for her even on life-or-death situation. He also willing to give up his life for her. Once you are in love, you can willing to give up your life to save your lover." Thalia said. "That is part of my reason to join the hunters. But now...I'm in love." Thalia finished and smiled at Nico.

Nico smiled at her back.

Zeus and Hades stared at each other, they are not happy that Nico and Thalia are in love. But if their kids are happy, they will just leave them alone.

 **"Come on, Percy!" Annabeth yelled, tugging at my wrist.**

 **"But that's—"**

 **"I know!" she shouted. "The place you described in your dream! But Grover's going to fall if we don't catch him." She was right, of course. Grover's predicament got me moving again.**

 **He was yelling, clawing at the ground, but the winged shoes kept dragging him toward the pit, and it didn't look like we could possibly get to him in time.**

All Grover's friend moaned. They didn't want Grover to die. But they know that Grover is alright, but they couldn't bare it.

 **What saved him were his hooves.**

Everyone chuckled weakly.

 **The flying sneakers had always been a loose fit on him, and finally Grover hit a big rock and the left shoe came flying off. It sped into the darkness, down into the chasm. The right shoe kept tugging him along, but not as fast. Grover was able to slow himself down by grabbing on to the big rock and using it like an anchor.**

 **He was ten feet from the edge of the pit when we caught him and hauled him back up the slope. The other winged shoe tugged itself off, circled around us angrily and kicked our heads in protest before flying off into the chasm to join its twin.**

Everyone stare at the book suspiciously. Something isn't right about those shoes..

 **We all collapsed, exhausted, on the obsidian gravel. My limbs felt like lead. Even my backpack seemed heavier, as if somebody had filled it with rocks.**

 **Grover was scratched up pretty bad. His hands were bleeding. His eyes had gone slit-pupiled, goat style, the way they did whenever he was terrified.**

 **"I don't know how ..." he panted. "I didn't..."**

 **"Wait," I said. "Listen."**

 **I heard something—a deep whisper in the darkness.**

Everyone shivered, but the most of them paled.

 **Another few seconds, and Annabeth said, "Percy, this place—"**

 **"Shh." I stood.**

 **The sound was getting louder, a muttering, evil voice from far, far below us. Coming from the pit.**

"...I really hate grandpa..." Hermes shuddered.

 **Grover sat up. "Wh—what's that noise?"**

 **Annabeth heard it too, now. I could see it in her eyes. "Tartarus. The entrance to Tartarus." I uncapped Anaklusmos.**

The room went colder and the hearth died a little when Percy mentioned Tartarus.

 **The bronze sword expanded, gleaming in the darkness, and the evil voice seemed to falter, just for a moment, before resuming its chant.**

 **I could almost make out words now, ancient, ancient words, older even than Greek. As if ...**

 **"Magic," I said.**

 **"We have to get out of here," Annabeth said.**

"Please do...I hate that place.." Nico said weakly.

 **Together, we dragged Grover to his hooves and started back up the tunnel. My legs wouldn't move fast enough. My backpack weighed me down.**

Athena stared at the book suspiciously.

 **The voice got louder and angrier behind us, and we broke into a run.**

 **Not a moment too soon.**

 **A cold blast of wind pulled at our backs, as if the entire pit were inhaling. For a terrifying moment, I lost ground, my feet slipping in the gravel. If we'd been any closer to the edge, we would've been sucked in.**

Everyone shivered. That will be bad...Really bad.

 **We kept struggling forward, and finally reached the top of the tunnel, where the cavern widened out into the Fields of Asphodel. The wind died. A wail of outrage echoed from deep in the tunnel. Something was not happy we'd gotten away.**

 **"What was that?" Grover panted, when we'd collapsed in the relative safety of a black poplar grove. "One of Hades's pets?"**

Hades rolled his eyes.

"I wish. But no."

 **Annabeth and I looked at each other. I could tell she was nursing an idea, probably the same one she'd gotten during the taxi ride to L.A., but she was too scared to share it. That was enough to terrify me.**

 **I capped my sword, put the pen back in my pocket. "Let's keep going." I looked at Grover. "Can you walk?"**

 **He swallowed. "Yeah, sure. I never liked those shoes, anyway."**

 **He tried to sound brave about it, but he was trembling as badly as Annabeth and I were. Whatever was in that pit was nobody's pet. It was unspeakably old and powerful. Even Echidna hadn't given me that feeling. I was almost relieved to turn my back on that tunnel and head toward the palace of Hades.**

"Wait the second, 'almost'?" Poseidon asked.

 **Almost.**

"Like a father like a son." Hermes grinned.

 **The Furies circled the parapets, high in the gloom. The outer walls of the fortress glittered black, and the two-story-tall bronze gates stood wide open.**

 **Up close, I saw that the engravings on the gates were scenes of death. Some were from modern times—an atomic bomb exploding over a city—**

Hades growled.

"Hiroshima...This is why I hates civil war...The dead is coming...More paper work...Gods dammit, why I get peace..?!" Hades complained.

Zeus smirked.

"Oh you won't brother. 'Cause mortals aren't immortal! Aha!" Zeus snickered.

"Bastard!"

"Boys. No fighting." Hestia said whiling shaking her head disapproval.

 **—a trench filled with gas mask-wearing soldiers, a line of African famine victims waiting with empty bowls—but all of them looked as if they'd been etched into the bronze thousands of years ago. I wondered if I was looking at prophecies that had come true.**

"It always." Frank said sarcastically.

 **Inside the courtyard was the strangest garden I'd ever seen. Multicolored mushrooms, poisonous shrubs, and weird luminous plants grew without sunlight. Precious jewels made up for the lack of flowers, piles of rubies as big as my fist, clumps of raw diamonds. Standing here and there like frozen party guests were Medusa's garden statues— petrified children, satyrs, and centaurs—all smiling grotesquely.**

 **In the center of the garden was an orchard of pomegranate trees, their orange blooms neon bright in the dark. "The garden of Persephone," Annabeth said. "Keep walking."**

 **I understood why she wanted to move on. The tart smell of those pomegranates was almost overwhelming. I had a sudden desire to eat them, but then I remembered the story of Persephone. One bite of Underworld food, and we would never be able to leave.**

Hades groaned.

"What?" Hermes asked.

"Nothing. I just hate it."

"Why?"

"That means I have to deal with them until they died."

The Olympians glared at Hades.

"What?"

"You killed my son, fifteen years ago." Aphrodite accused.

"What?! I DID NOT! He just died."

"Really hm?"

"Really."

"Well, I haven't seen my son for thirty four years since he left his quest for the underworld."

Hades choked with his wide eyes.

"Your son?! That sick bastard? I thought you meant the other son! But that sick bastard? Bullshit, I killed him for raping my WIFE! That son of bitch! Good thing I sent him to his worst nightmare after he died. It felt so good hearing his scream..." Hades said darkly.

Demeter paled for a second and then her face turned into scarlet and her eyes were deadly dangerous you could see a flame.

"THAT SON OF BITCH! HE DARES RAPED MY DAUGHTER, I WILL SENT HIM TO THE DARKEST PIT OF TARTARUS! HE WILL FACE MY WRATH, EVEN HE IS DEAD! NO ONE WILL EVER EVER RAPE MY DAUGHTER OR THEY WILL FACE MY WRATH!" Demeter outraged.

Everyone paled. They have never seen Demeter this angry before.

 **I pulled Grover away to keep him from picking a big juicy one.**

 **We walked up the steps of the palace, between black columns, through a black marble portico, and into the house of Hades. The entry hall had a polished bronze floor, which seemed to boil in the reflected torchlight. There was no ceiling, just the cavern roof, far above. I guess they never had to worry about rain down here.**

"Why? Why do I need rain? Rain are evil."

Zeus and Poseidon snorted at Hades.

 **Every side doorway was guarded by a skeleton in military gear. Some wore Greek armor, some British redcoat uniforms, some camouflage with tattered American flags on the shoulders. They carried spears or muskets or M-16s. None of them bothered us, but their hollow eye sockets followed us as we walked down the hall, toward the big set of doors at the opposite end.**

 **Two U.S. Marine skeletons guarded the doors. They grinned down at us, rocket-propelled grenade launchers held across their chests.**

 **"You know," Grover mumbled, "I bet Hades doesn't have trouble with door-to-door salesmen."**

Everyone expect for Hades and Nico who look offended, snickered.

 **My backpack weighed a ton now.**

Athena is staring to get very suspicious about that backpack.

 **I couldn't figure out why. I wanted to open it, check to see if I had somehow picked up a stray bowling ball, but this wasn't the time.**

 **"Well, guys," I said. "I suppose we should ... knock?"**

Everyone snorted.

 **A hot wind blew down the corridor, and the doors swung open. The guards stepped aside.**

 **"I guess that means entrez-vous," Annabeth said.**

"A what?" Leo said stupidity. "I'm only good at Spanish and Greek..."

Piper rolled her eyes.

"It French. It means enter."

"Oh.." Leo muttered stupidity.

 **The room inside looked just like in my dream, except this time the throne of Hades was occupied.**

 **He was the third god I'd met, but the first who really struck me as godlike.**

 **He was at least ten feet tall, for one thing, and dressed in black silk robes and a crown of braided gold. His skin was albino white, his hair shoulder-length and jet black. He wasn't bulked up like Ares, but he radiated power. He lounged on his throne of fused human bones, looking lithe, graceful, and dangerous as a panther.**

 **I immediately felt like he should be giving the orders. He knew more than I did. He should be my master. Then I told myself to snap out of it.**

Hades pouted.

 **Hades's aura was affecting me, just as Ares's had. The Lord of the Dead resembled pictures I'd seen of Adolph Hitler, or Napoleon, or the terrorist leaders who direct suicide bombers. Hades had the same intense eyes, the same kind of mesmerizing, evil charisma.**

 **"You are brave to come here, Son of Poseidon," he said in an oily voice.**

Hades look offended.

"You gotta be kidding me, 'oily voice'? MY VOICE IS NOT OILY YOU FOOLS!"

Everyone chuckled.

 **"After what you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply very foolish."**

"...What..?"

 **Numbness crept into my joints, tempting me to lie down and just take a little nap at Hades's feet. Curl up here and sleep forever.**

"Don't." Poseidon said fearfully.

 **I fought the feeling and stepped forward. I knew what I had to say. "Lord and Uncle, I come with two requests."**

 **Hades raised an eyebrow. When he sat forward in his throne, shadowy faces appeared in the folds of his black robes, faces of torment, as if the garment were stitched of trapped souls from the Fields of Punishment, trying to get out. The ADHD part of me wondered, off-task, whether the rest of his clothes were made the same way. What horrible things would you have to do in your life to get woven into Hades's underwear?**

"Oooooh buuurn!" Hermes snickered.

"Oh shut up! I don't do that!"

' _Hades you got your ass busted._ ' Apollo thought, he knew that Hades is lying.

 **"Only two requests?" Hades said. "Arrogant child. As if you have not already taken enough. Speak, then. It amuses me not to strike you dead yet."**

 **I swallowed. This was going about as well as I'd feared.**

 **I glanced at the empty, smaller throne next to Hades's. It was shaped like a black flower, gilded with gold. I wished Queen Persephone were here. I recalled something in the myths about how she could calm her husband's moods. But it was summer. Of course, Persephone would be above in the world of light with her mother, the goddess of agriculture, Demeter. Her visits, not the tilt of the planet, create the seasons.**

 **Annabeth cleared her throat. Her finger prodded me in the back.**

 **"Lord Hades," I said. "Look, sir, there can't be a war among the gods. It would be ... bad."**

 **"Really bad," Grover added helpfully.**

 **"Return Zeus's master bolt to me," I said. "Please, sir. Let me carry it to Olympus."**

The Stolls thought about Percy's line.

"Isn't he short of being dramatic?" Connor asked his brother.

Travis put his hand on Connor's shoulder.

"Connor, my man. Percy always been dramatic remember?"

Connor snickered.

"Since birth."

* * *

**In the Void**

* * *

**Warning for abuse scene and some mention of abuse weapons and blood gore. ( **And please don't say I didn't warn you..** )**

Percy panted and panted after his torture of beating using the whip.

"Why I feel like I have been insulted...?" Percy muttered himself weakly. His voice is cracking, it sound like he is dying.

The door opened slowly.

Percy paled. _Oh no..._

'It' ( **A/N: I'm using 'it' for now until they will reveal themselves.** ) gave a cruel grin at Percy.

"Let resume were we have left off..." It smiled cruelly and slowly drew a long whip from it belt slowly. "Hmm...Should I go easy on you...Or in the hard way?" It lick the whip slowly and gasp like 'it' got an answer. "Aha! I'm going to pick a hard way..." It smiled cruelly and raise the whip and slashed against his skin strapped to Percy's chest. Percy tried not to moan in agony, but he whimpered.

It pouted slightly and then growled angrily. It wanted Percy to moan and cry.

"Tch...! I guess there is no food for you for a week or so."

Percy paled and his eye widened knowing what is this going.

It raises the whip and whacked Percy's chest.

Percy's eye widened in fear and horror as he saw his blood splatter on the wall and some of it was on his cheek.

It smirked cruelly and lick his blood from it cheek.

"Perfect...Perfect image.." It muttered quietly as it look at the wall of his blood and his dry blood.

Percy passed out due to losing blood. (Y'know he is immortal so he won't die, but his scars aren't. It will stay there for the rest of his days.)

* * *

** abuse scene is over**

**back to Olympians room**

* * *

"Hey!" Poseidon cried.

Connor and Travis shrugged.

"It true milord."

Poseidon glared at the Stolls.

 **Hades's eyes grew dangerously bright. "You dare keep up this pretense, after what you have done?"**

Poseidon chuckled awkwardly.

"What exactly he have done?"

 **I glanced back at my friends. They looked as confused as I was.**

 **"Um ... Uncle," I said. "You keep saying 'after what you've done.' What exactly have I done?"**

"Like a father like a son." Hermes grinned at Poseidon who is pouting.

 **The throne room shook with a tremor so strong, they probably felt it upstairs in Los Angeles.**

Everyone raise their eyebrows at Hades.

"That was you? I always thought that was Poseidon, since he is also God of Earthquake." Zeus reasoned.

"HEY!"

"Sorry." Zeus don't sound like sorry.

 **Debris fell from the cavern ceiling. Doors burst open all along the walls, and skeletal warriors marched in, hundreds of them, from every time period and nation in Western civilization. They lined the perimeter of the room, blocking the exits.**

 **Hades bellowed, "Do you think I want war, godling?"**

"Fuck no! I DON'T WANT TO GET MORE GODS DAMN PAPER WORK!"

 ** _I wanted to say, Well, these guys don't look like peace activists._**

"Excuse me?!" Hades cried.

 **But I thought that might be a dangerous answer.**

"Good...If you did...I will blast you to pieces."

 **"You are the Lord of the Dead," I said carefully. "A war would expand your kingdom, right?"**

Hades look thoughtful.

"Hmmmm...I do..." Hades admitted.

Everyone stared at Hades like WTF?!

"I meant without killing."

Clarisse sweat dropped.

" **A typical thing for my brothers to say! Do you think I need more subjects? Did you not see the sprawl of the Asphodel Fields?"**

"Oooooh buuuurn!" Hermes snickered.

 **"Well..."**

"Busted."

 **"Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past century alone, how many subdivisions I've had to open?"**

 **I opened my mouth to respond, but Hades was on a roll now.**

Everyone laughed hysterically.

 **"More security ghouls," he moaned. "Traffic problems at the judgment pavilion. Double overtime for the staff. I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson. I control all the precious metals under the earth. But my expenses!"**

 **"Charon wants a pay raise," I blurted, just remembering the fact. As soon as I said it, I wished I could sew up my mouth.**

"You wish? Oh oh...I got a new torture ideas..." Hades smiled evilly.

Everyone groaned. _STOP GIVING HADES IDEAS PERCY!_

 **"Don't get me started on Charon!" Hades yelled. "He's been impossible ever since he discovered Italian suits! Problems everywhere, and I've got to handle all of them personally. The commute time alone from the palace to the gates is enough to drive me insane! And the dead just keep arriving. No, godling. I need no help getting subjects! I did not ask for this war."**

"True. This war is ridiculous! I don't give a shit about it. Even your baby bolt is stolen. It your problem." Hades muttered.

"HEY! HADES YOU BASTARD!"

"Go to hell Zeus."

 **"But you took Zeus's master bolt."**

"LIES! A MOTHERFUCKING LIES!"

 **"Lies!" More rumbling.**

"Dramatic as Zeus." Poseidon muttered.

"Oh shut up."

 **Hades rose from his throne, towering to the height of a football goalpost. "Your father may fool Zeus, boy, but I am not so stupid. I see his plan."**

 **"His plan?"**

 **"You were the thief on the winter solstice," he said. "Your father thought to keep you his little secret. He directed you into the throne room on Olympus, You took the master bolt and my helm. Had I not sent my Fury to discover you at Yancy Academy, Poseidon might have succeeded in hiding his scheme to start a war.**

"WHAT?! I DON'T WANT A BULLSHIT WAR! BESIDE ZEUS STARTED IT!"

"HEY!"

 **But now you have been forced into the open. You will be exposed as Poseidon's thief, and I will have my helm back!"**

The room went silence for a while.

"M-m-my helm got stolen...?!" Hades repeated like four time.

"So?"

"YOU FOOLS! MY HELM GOT STOLEN, AND SOME SON OF BITCH STOLEN IT! HOW YOU FEEL IF YOUR POWERFUL WEAPON WAS STOLEN?!"

"..."

"THAT HOW I FEEL YOU BASTARD!"

 **"But ..." Annabeth spoke. I could tell her mind was going a million miles an hour. "Lord Hades, your helm of darkness is missing, too?"**

 **"Do not play innocent with me, girl. You and the satyr have been helping this hero—coming here to threaten me in Poseidon's name, no doubt—to bring me an ultimatum.**

"What?! I have never blackmail you."

"Just...Go to hell."

"...Seriously I haven't."

 **Does Poseidon think I can be blackmailed into supporting him?"**

"Fuck no. Your mind is just fucked up."

"Shut up."

 **"No!" I said. "Poseidon didn't—I didn't—"**

Poseidon nodded with a agreement.

 **"I have said nothing of the helm's disappearance," Hades snarled, "because I had no illusions that anyone on Olympus would offer me the slightest justice, the slightest help. I can ill afford for word to get out that my most powerful weapon of fear is missing. So I searched for you myself, and when it was clear you were coming to me to deliver your threat, I did not try to stop you."**

"Bastard..."

 **"You didn't try to stop us? But—"**

 **"Return my helm now, or I will stop death," Hades threatened.**

"Bastard, If you touch my son...You will feel my wrath!"

Hades paled. Facing Poseidon's wrath? You must've got a death wish. There is no way in hell that you'll survive Poseidon's wrath.

 **"That is my counterproposal. I will open the earth and have the dead pour back into the world. I will make your lands a nightmare. And you, Percy Jackson—your skeleton will lead my army out of Hades."**

Everyone gulped. _That will be bad.._

 **The skeletal soldiers all took one step forward, making their weapons ready.**

 **At that point, I probably should have been terrified. The strange thing was, I felt offended. Nothing gets me angrier than being accused of something I didn't do.**

Demigods who know Percy look at each other nervously, it wasn't good that Percy is angry. He is like he could take down a god or a minor god.

 **I've had a lot of experience with that.**

 **"You're as bad as Zeus," I said.**

"HEY!" Hades look offended. "I'm not that bad, right!?"

"..."

"Fuck you all."

 **"You think I stole from you? That's why you sent the Furies after me?"**

 **"Of course," Hades said.**

 **"And the other monsters?"**

 **Hades curled his lip. "I had nothing to do with them. I wanted no quick death for you—I wanted you brought before me alive so you might face every torture in the Fields of Punishment. Why do you think I let you enter my kingdom so easily?"**

"Pfft. ' _Easily_ ' huh? What the hell, that was super easy." Poseidon snorted.

"Oh shut your ass."

 **"Easily?"**

 **"Return my property!"**

 **"But I don't have your helm. I came for the master bolt."**

 **"Which you already possess!" Hades shouted.**

"What?" Zeus asked.

 **"You came here with it, little fool, thinking you could you threaten me!"**

 **"But I didn't!"**

 **"Open your pack, then."**

Everyone paled. It cannot be...!

 **A horrible feeling struck me. The weight in my backpack, like a bowling ball. It couldn't be...**

 **I slung it off my shoulder and unzipped it. Inside was a two-foot-long metal cylinder, spiked on both ends, humming with energy.**

" _LIGHTNING THIEF_!" Zeus roared. "YOU HAS IT ALL THE ALONG! I should've blasted you a long time ago..."

"Zeus." Poseidon warned. "Remember your oath."

Zeus huffed with a sudden annoyance.

"I should sent a hero to kill him."

"Zeus!" Poseidon said angrily. "I promised that I will rip your crown of Olympus and I will destroy you without a single hesitation."

Zeus growled.

"You dare—!"

"Tsk tsk...Remember Zeus, I have power to bring downfall of Olympus." Poseidon warned. "You may have a power of sky, but remember I can control water that includes your blood through your veins. I can make you fade whenever I want even Chaos ( **A/N: Oops...To much OP ((overpowered)) for Poseidon...*sigh* I just want to make him powerful as Chaos or greater...He seriously should've be Chaos' father...Didn't ya think?** ) I could. But you are lucky enough that I haven't join the Titan side. But been warned brother, I can bring downfall of Olympus due to the ancient prophecy when we defeated our father."

Zeus tried to look angrily, but sadden a little about the ancient prophecy.

* * *

**Flashback shortly after Kronos broken into thousand of pieces**

* * *

The three Fates appeared.

"What the..!?" Poseidon yelped.

"Oh gods dammit we just literally won the war! Now some weird old ladies appeared.." Poseidon grumbled sarcastically.

Everyone facepalmed at Poseidon's stupidity.

"Poseidon, those are The Fates you idiot!" Hera slapped Poseidon's head. "Show some respect!"

"Ow...Jeez..I don't give respect for some old ladies..Like I don't respect all of you beside for Hestia."

"Poseidon." Zeus warned. "Respect them or you will be blast into pieces and I will sent you to father."

Poseidon took a tongue at Zeus.

"Shut up asshole."

Zeus look at Poseidon dangerously.

"Enough.." The third one said.

Everyone went quiet.

"Why are you here, Lady Fates?" Zeus bowed.

"We have a prophecy to announce.." The second one said.

"You gotta to be kidding me! We just...Won the war..Now this is official, I hates prophecies." Poseidon whined.

Zeus rolled his eyes and then look at The Fates with a serious look.

"What prophecy?"

"Someone is destined to destroy you or helped you raise." The first one said.

"Who?" Zeus demanded.

The Fates pointed at Poseidon.

"M-me?" Poseidon stammered clearly haven't pay attention.

The Fates nodded.

"Now here your prophecy, but be warned you cannot deny fates." The Fates warned. "It's his choice."

" _The second son of Kronos and Rhea, either bring downfall of Olympus or help it rise_

 _within his son last breath leading a final choice shall end his days_

 _Claim a throne of King of Gods_

 _Only the legendary hero dies a new legend reunited again after millennia_."

Everyone paled at the prophecy.

* * *

**End of the flashback*

* * *

 **"Percy," Annabeth said. "How—"**

 **"I—I don't know. I don't understand."**

 **"You heroes are always the same," Hades said. "Your pride makes you foolish, thinking you could bring such a weapon before me. I did not ask for Zeus's master bolt, but since it is here, you will yield it to me. I am sure it will make an excellent bargaining tool. And now ... my helm. Where is it?"**

 **I was speechless. I had no helm. I had no idea how the master bolt had gotten into my backpack. I wanted to think Hades was pulling some kind of trick. Hades was the bad guy. But suddenly the world turned sideways. I realized I'd been played with. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades had been set at each other's throats by someone else. The master bolt had been in the backpack, and I'd gotten the backpack from ...**

"ARES! THAT SON OF BITCH!" Zeus growled.

"You know what?"

"What?" Poseidon asked Athena.

"Ares is such a _dick_."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"ATHENA!" Hestia roared.

Athena gulped.

"Y-yes milady?"

"You. Better. Not. Use. That. Word." Hestia said darkly and the hearth turned black.

"Y-y-yes milady."

"Good." Hestia smiled kindly as the hearth turned back to normal.

 **"Lord Hades, wait," I said. "This is all a mistake."**

 **"A mistake?" Hades roared.**

 **The skeletons aimed their weapons. From high above, there was a fluttering of leathery wings, and the three Furies swooped down to perch on the back of their master's throne. The one with Mrs. Dodds's face grinned at me eagerly and flicked her whip.**

 **"There is no mistake," Hades said. "I know why you have come—I know the real reason you brought the bolt. You came to bargain for her."**

"BAAAAAASTARD!" Poseidon roared.

 **Hades loosed a ball of gold fire from his palm. It exploded on the steps in front of me, and there was my mother, frozen in a shower of gold, just as she was at the moment when the Minotaur began to squeeze her to death.**

Everyone gritted their teeth while Hades look uncomfortable.

 **I couldn't speak. I reached out to touch her, but the light was as hot as a bonfire.**

 **"Yes," Hades said with satisfaction. "I took her. I knew, Percy Jackson, that you would come to bargain with me eventually. Return my helm, and perhaps I will let her go. She is not dead, you know. Not yet. But if you displease me, that will change."**

 **I thought about the pearls in my pocket. Maybe they could get me out of this. If I could just get my mom free ...**

 **"Ah, the pearls," Hades said, and my blood froze. "Yes, my brother and his little tricks.**

"It was not!"

"It is."

"It was not!"

"It is."

"Screw you."

"In your ass."

 **Bring them forth, Percy Jackson."**

 **My hand moved against my will and brought out the pearls.**

 **"Only three," Hades said. "What a shame. You do realize each only protects a single person. Try to take your mother, then, little godling. And which of your friends will you leave behind to spend eternity with me? Go on. Choose. Or give me the backpack and accept my terms."**

 **I looked at Annabeth and Grover. Their faces were grim.**

 **"We were tricked," I told them. "Set up."**

 **"Yes, but why?" Annabeth asked. "And the voice in the pit—"**

 **"I don't know yet," I said. "But I intend to ask."**

 **"Decide, boy!" Hades yelled.**

 **"Percy." Grover put his hand on my shoulder. "You can't give him the bolt,"**

 **"I know that."**

 **"Leave me here," he said. "Use the third pearl on your mom.**

"NOOOOOOOO!"

 **"No!"**

 **"I'm a satyr," Grover said. "We don't have souls like humans do. He can torture me until I die, but he won't get me forever. I'll just be reincarnated as a flower or something.**

"OH YOU BETTER NOT! HADES!"

"I won't. I swear to Gods, is this Hades-beating-day?"

 **It's the best way."**

 **"No." Annabeth drew her bronze knife. "You two go on. Grover, you have to protect Percy. You have to get your searcher's license and start your quest for Pan. Get his mom out of here. I'll cover you. I plan to go down fighting."**

 **"No way," Grover said. "I'm staying behind."**

 **"Think again, goat boy," Annabeth said.**

 **"Stop it, both of you!" I felt like my heart was being ripped in two. They had both been with me through so much. I remembered Grover dive-bombing Medusa in the statue garden, and Annabeth saving us from Cerberus; we'd survived Hephaestus's Waterland ride, the St. Louis Arch, the Lotus Casino.**

Nico shuddered at the word ' _Lotus Casino_ '.

 **I had spent thousands of miles worried that I'd be betrayed by a friend, but these friends would never do that. They had done nothing but save me, over and over, and now they wanted to sacrifice their lives for my mom.**

 **"I know what to do," I said. "Take these."**

 **I handed them each a pearl.**

 **Annabeth said, "But, Percy ..."**

 **I turned and faced my mother. I desperately wanted to sacrifice myself and use the last pearl on her, but I knew what she would say. She would never allow it. I had to get the bolt back to Olympus and tell Zeus the truth. I had to stop the war. She would never forgive me if I saved her instead. I thought about the prophecy made at Half-Blood Hill, what seemed like a million years ago. You will fail to save what matters most in the end.**

 **"I'm sorry," I told her. "I'll be back. I'll find a way."**

"Hades..."

"Look, I'm sorry, alright?!"

 **The smug look on Hades's face faded. He said, "Godling ... ?"**

Everyone chuckled.

 **"I'll find your helm, Uncle," I told him. "I'll return it. Remember about Charon's pay raise."**

 **"Do not defy me—"**

 **"And it wouldn't hurt to play with Cerberus once in a while. She likes red rubber balls."**

 **"Percy Jackson, you will not—"**

 **I shouted, "Now, guys!"**

 **We smashed the pearls at our feet. For a scary moment, nothing happened.**

 **Hades yelled, "Destroy them!"**

Poseidon glared at Hades dangerously, while Hades chuckled nervously.

 **The army of skeletons rushed forward, swords out, guns clicking to full automatic. The Furies lunged, their whips bursting into flame.**

 **Just as the skeletons opened fire, the pearl fragments at my feet exploded with a burst of green light and a gust of fresh sea wind. I was encased in a milky white sphere, which was starting to float off the ground.**

 **Annabeth and Grover were right behind me. Spears and bullets sparked harmlessly off the pearl bubbles as we floated up. Hades yelled with such rage, the entire fortress shook and I knew it was not going to be a peaceful night in L.A.**

 **"Look up.'" Grover yelled. "We're going to crash!"**

 **Sure enough, we were racing right toward the stalactites, which I figured would pop our bubbles and skewer us.**

 **"How do you control these things?" Annabeth shouted.**

 **"I don't think you do!" I shouted back.**

 **We screamed as the bubbles slammed into the ceiling and ... Darkness.**

 **Were we dead?**

"In your dream." Hades snorted.

Poseidon glared at Hades.

"Never mind..."

 **No, I could still feel the racing sensation. We were going up, right through solid rock as easily as an air bubble in water. That was the power of the pearls, I realized—What belongs to the sea will always return to the sea.**

 **For a few moments, I couldn't see anything outside the smooth walls of my sphere, then my pearl broke through on the ocean floor. The two other milky spheres, Annabeth and Grover, kept pace with me as we soared upward through the water. And—ker-blam!**

 **We exploded on the surface, in the middle of the Santa Monica Bay, knocking a surfer off his board with an indignant, "Dude!"**

 **I grabbed Grover and hauled him over to a life buoy. I caught Annabeth and dragged her over too. A curious shark was circling us, a great white about eleven feet long.**

 **I said, "Beat it."**

 **The shark turned and raced away.**

"Awesome!" Leo squealed.

Jason look at the book in envy.

 **The surfer screamed something about bad mushrooms and paddled away from us as fast as he could.**

 **Somehow, I knew what time it was: early morning, June 21, the day of the summer solstice.**

 **In the distance, Los Angeles was on fire, plumes of smoke rising from neighborhoods all over the city. There had been an earthquake, all right, and it was Hades's fault. He was probably sending an army of the dead after me right now.**

 **But at the moment, the Underworld wasn't my biggest problem.**

 **I had to get to shore. I had to get Zeus's thunderbolt back to Olympus. Most of all, I had to have a serious conversation with the god who'd tricked me.**

"Who want to read next?" Hera asked.

"Me." Poseidon said.

Athena handed over the book to God of the Sea

" **I Battle My Jerk Relative**." Poseidon read out loud.


	22. I Battle My Jerk Relative

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

Godess Bubbles: Yes prophecy is confusing. You see about millennia years ago like since the prophecy were created, the line are stupider. For example: _The king of Europe shall risen and attack the empire within seventeen days_. That is choppy..And Percy yet have awakened his power over blood yet. But soon.

Lintsu13: Thanks for the supporting! :)

theworstisgoingtohappen: Welp, here it is! :)

101101: I'm not happy to see your rude comment. If you are not interested in this story, then please get the hell outta here.

I'm sorry for the wait! :( Welp...It summer you know...This is my excused...Please no flame! ;-; OMG! YAY FOR 100,000 WORDS! YESSSSSS! Hallelujah people! Thanks you all!

* * *

"Oooh, I can't wait! I really want to know how Percy be—"

"LEO! THAT'S A SPOILER ALERT!" Piper yelled.

Leo shrugged dumbly.

"So?"

Piper facepalmed.

 **A Coast Guard boat picked us up, but they were too busy to keep us for long, or to wonder how three kids in street clothes had gotten out into the middle of the bay.**

"You gotta love the mist." Hermes said sarcastically.

 **There was a disaster to mop up. Their radios were jammed with distress calls.**

 **They dropped us off at the Santa Monica Pier with towels around our shoulders and water bottles that said I'M A JUNIOR COAST GUARD! and sped off to save more people.**

Olympians raise their eyebrows.

"Really? What about sharks?" Artemis asked. "I heard about sharks attack. I wonder Coast Guard will rescue them if there a sharks?"

Poseidon snickered.

"Nope. They are coward. Like that time about seven years ago..Damn, that was gold!"

Artemis raise her eyebrows dangerously.

"You mean, killing those innocent woman even children?"

Poseidon winced.

"I don't mean to."

"You didn't mean to?! You bastard! YOU KILLED THOSE POOR WOMAN AND CHILDREN!"

Poseidon look guilty.

"Perhaps it was my anger?"

"You bastard, you have no mercy for killing those poor woman and children!"

Poseidon muttered about no wonder those virgin females can be difficult to talk with.

 **Our clothes were sopping wet, even mine. When the Coast Guard boat had appeared, I'd silently prayed they wouldn't pick me out of the water and find me perfectly dry, which might've raised some eyebrows. So I'd willed myself to get soaked. Sure enough, my usual waterproof magic had abandoned me. I was also barefoot, because I'd given my shoes to Grover.**

 **Better the Coast Guard wonder why one of us was barefoot than wonder why one of us had hooves.**

Everyone laughed.

 **After reaching dry land, we stumbled down the beach, watching the city burn against a beautiful sunrise. I felt as if I'd just come back from the dead—which I had.**

"Wait what?" Leo raise his eyebrows and put a frown face. "Your alive, dude. Your probably the first hero that escaped Hades' wrath."

 **My backpack was heavy with Zeus's master bolt. My heart was even heavier from seeing my mother.**

At this point everyone glared at Hades with a cold glare.

"You are a cold hearted bastard." Hera growled.

"HEY! I CAN BE NICE SOMETIME RIGHT GUYS?!"

"..."

"FUCK YOU ALL!"

 **"I don't believe it," Annabeth said. "We went all that way—"**

 **"It was a trick," I said. "A strategy worthy of Athena."**

Athena look offended.

"How could you?!"

 **"Hey," she warned.**

 **"You get it, don't you?"**

 **She dropped her eyes, her anger fading. "Yeah. I get it."**

 **"Well, I don't!" Grover complained. "Would somebody—"**

 **"Percy ..." Annabeth said. "I'm sorry about your mother. I'm so sorry..."**

Everyone stare at Annabeth like you-are-not-helping-you-fool stare.

Annabeth look a little guilty.

 **I pretended not to hear her. If I talked about my mother, I was going to start crying like a little kid.**

"Annabeth...I think you broke him so hard." Leo said with a crack of a smile.

Annabeth slapped Leo's head.

"Oh shut up Valdez!"

 **"The prophecy was right," I said. "You shall go west and face the god who has turned.' But it wasn't Hades. Hades didn't want war among the Big Three.**

Hades look satisfied like thanks-the-gods-that-he-believed-me.

 **Someone else pulled off the theft. Someone stole Zeus's master bolt, and Hades's helm, and framed me because I'm Poseidon's kid.**

Poseidon huffed angrily.

"Damned the bothers." Poseidon muttered angrily. "Always...Always blame on me on ridiculous things."

The bothers look guilty.

 **Poseidon will get blamed by both sides. By sundown today, there will be a three-way war. And I'll have caused it."**

"No, he didn't! It was some bastard who is thought they could win by using the gods damned lightning bolt!" Hestia roared. "What a greedy bastards!"

 **Grover shook his head, mystified. "But who would be that sneaky? Who would want war that bad?"**

"Gee, let me think..It was someone bastard who wanted war." Poseidon said angrily.

 **I stopped in my tracks, looking down the beach. "Gee, let me think."**

"Like a father like a son."

 **There he was, waiting for us, in his black leather duster and his sunglasses, an aluminum baseball bat propped on his shoulder. His motorcycle rumbled beside him, its headlight turning the sand red.**

 **"Hey, kid," Ares said, seeming genuinely pleased to see me. "You were supposed to die."**

"AREEEEEEEEES YOU FUCKTARD! I WILL KICK YOUR FUCKTARD TO HELL!" Poseidon roared.

 **"You tricked me," I said. "You stole the helm and the master bolt."**

"Yeah, such a fuckard." Poseidon said angrily.

Everyone winced at Poseidon's word and felt a sight of pity on Ares who is going to face Poseidon's wrath.

 **Ares grinned. "Well, now, I didn't steal them personally. Gods taking each other's symbols of power—that's a big no-no. But you're not the only hero in the world who can run errands."**

"Hey...I haven't thought about it..." Zeus said thoughtfully and thinking about making a new law about heroes cannot steal other's symbol of powers.

Everyone glared at Zeus foreknowing what is Zeus thinking and they gave don't-you-even-dare-think-about-it glare at Zeus.

Zeus chuckled nervously.

"Or not..."

 **"Who did you use? Clarisse? She was there at the winter solstice."**

Everyone expect for Demigods who knew it was impossible for Clarisse stealing something valuable weapons for Gods stared at Clarisse in shock.

Clarisse shake her head and stared at the Olympians.

"Hell no! Why the hell I steal Zeus stupid lightning bolt?! That is absurd!"

"HEY! MY LIGHTNING BOLT ISN'T STUPID!"

"Bother, I agreed with Clarisse. Indeed it is stupid." Poseidon said.

"I agreed with Poseidon on this one." Hades smirked.

"HEY! YOU GUYS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ON MY SIDE!"

 **The idea seemed to amuse him.**

"See? Lord Zeus your so stupid. Who haven't used your brain." Clarisse taunted angrily.

Zeus face turn bright red.

"You—"

"Tsk tsk, cursing me doesn't do anything."

Zeus stuttered.

"Good job Clarisse!" Connor whispered and give a high five at Clarisse.

"Thanks!" Clarisse grinned widely. "I hang out with Prissy y'know. I got his habit of sassy talk."

Connor and other Demigods snickered.

 **"Doesn't matter. The point is, kid, you're impeding the war effort. See, you've got to die in the Underworld. Then Old Seaweed will be mad at Hades for killing you.**

Hades gasped in horror thinking what if he killed Poseidon's kid. _Okay, this definitely don't good. Good thing I didn't..._

 **Corpse Breath will have Zeus's master bolt, so Zeus'll be mad at him.**

"ARES!" Hades yelled.

Athena look thoughtful and then put a evil grin.

"Ares, your plan is horrible and you got your ass busted. You gotta own me fifty Golden Drachmas."

The Olympians stared at Athena in shock.

"You were betting on him?" Demeter said and still has a shock face.

Athena shrugged with a sly grin on her face.

"So? I'm making my Goddess job fun and easier." Athena said innocently. "Furthermore, I was just drunk on that time."

Everyone stuttered in shock.

"You? Getting drunk? What the in the Gaea's name?!" Hermes gasped. "ATHENA NEVER GET DRUNK!"

Athena raised her eyebrows dangerously at Hermes.

"Perhaps you are such a fool! FOR LISTENING SOME GODS DAMN RUMORS!" Athena yelled ferociously and kick Hermes in his private part.

Hermes is certainly sulking at the corner of the room whiling holding his hand on his private part with some tears floating out of his eyes.

 **And Hades is still looking for this ..."**

 **From his pocket he took out a ski cap—the kind bank robbers wear—and placed it between the handlebars of his bike. Immediately, the cap transformed into an elaborate bronze war helmet.**

"THAT IS MY HELM!" Hades shouted. "THEIF THEIF!"

 **"The helm of darkness," Grover gasped.**

 **"Exactly," Ares said. "Now where was I? Oh yeah, Hades will be mad at both Zeus and Poseidon, because he doesn't know who took this. Pretty soon, we got a nice little three-way slugfest going."**

"BASTARD!"

 **"But they're your family!" Annabeth protested.**

 **Ares shrugged. "Best kind of war. Always the bloodiest. Nothing like watching your relatives fight, I always say."**

Poseidon and Athena look offended and they both thinking ' _how dare you?!'_.

 **"You gave me the backpack in Denver," I said. "The master bolt was in there the whole time."**

 **"Yes and no," Ares said. "It's probably too complicated for your little mortal brain to follow, but the backpack is the master bolt's sheath, just morphed a bit. The bolt is connected to it, sort of like that sword you got, kid. It always returns to your pocket, right?"**

 **I wasn't sure how Ares knew about that, but I guess a god of war had to make it his business to know about weapons.**

Olympians rolled their eyes.

 **"Anyway," Ares continued, "I tinkered with the magic a bit, so the bolt would only return to the sheath once you reached the Underworld. You get close to Hades... Bingo, you got mail. If you died along the way—no loss. I still had the weapon."**

 **"But why not just keep the master bolt for yourself?" I said. "Why send it to Hades?"**

"Actually, I never thought about that.." Annabeth muttered at herself thoughtfully.

 **Ares got a twitch in his jaw. For a moment, it was almost as if he were listening to another voice, deep inside his head.**

The eldest god look at each other nervously, knowing who is it.

 **"Why didn't I ... yeah ... with that kind of firepower ..."**

 **He held the trance for one second ... two seconds...**

Suddenly almost everyone felt nervous even for Demigods who fought in the Titan War even though they fought Kronos' evil minions. It give back a trauma of experienced of their lover, friend, and family's death in front of their own eyes even Silena Beauregard who died during the Titan War who is now recognize a hero.

 **I exchanged nervous looks with Annabeth.**

 **Ares's face cleared. "I didn't want the trouble. Better to have you caught redhanded, holding the thing."**

 **"You're lying," I said. "Sending the bolt to the Underworld wasn't your idea, was it?"**

 **"Of course it was!" Smoke drifted up from his sunglasses, as if they were about to catch fire.**

 **"You didn't order the theft," I guessed. "Someone else sent a hero to steal the two items. Then, when Zeus sent you to hunt him down, you caught the thief.**

"And why? Just why you didn't bring it to me?"

 **But you didn't turn him over to Zeus. Something convinced you to let him go.**

Zeus muttered about stupidity move, Ares.

 **You kept the items until another hero could come along and complete the delivery. That thing in the pit is ordering you around."**

Zeus look at the book in betrayal.

"How could you, Ares?"

 **"I am the god of war! I take orders from no one! I don't have dreams!"**

"Since when, he mention any dream." Athena said suspiciously, foreknowing something isn't right about Ares.

 **I hesitated. "Who said anything about dreams?"**

 **Ares looked agitated, but he tried to cover it with a smirk.**

 **"Let's get back to the problem at hand, kid. You're alive. I can't have you taking that bolt to Olympus. You just might get those hardheaded idiots to listen to you. So I've got to kill you. Nothing personal."**

"BASTARD!" Poseidon roared angrily.

 **He snapped his fingers. The sand exploded at his feet and out charged a wild boar, even larger and uglier than the one whose head hung above the door of cabin seven at CampHalf-Blood. The beast pawed the sand, glaring at me with beady eyes as it lowered its razor-sharp tusks and waited for the command to kill.**

 **I stepped into the surf. "Fight me yourself, Ares."**

The Olympians gasped.

"IS HE NUTS!?" Demeter gasped. "I DON'T THINK HE EATS ANYTHING NUTS!"

"OH SHUT THE HELL UP WOMAN!"

"Make me."

"Ooooooh!" Hermes smirked like crazy. "Demeter declared a challenge! Will Hades say yes to Demeter for a challenge?"

Hades look at Demeter dangerously and then smirked.

"Very well, Demeter." He spat. "I accept your challenge."

Demeter grinned like she knowing that she'll win.

When Hades noticed Demeter's grin, he smirked.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Demeter be careful what you wish for." Hades playfully warned his sister.

Demeter huffed in a sudden annoyance.

"Shut up." And then she summoned a vine that is almost indestructible, but it can only be destroyed by a rarest sword on earth who is named, Riptide. ( **A/N: Dammit..Even I OP ((Over powered)) Percy's sword. Well, I kinda believed that Percy's sword is indestructible and dangerous and the rarest blade on earth. *whistle* Damn...Don't ya think?!** ) and fifteen dangerous poisonous bugs.

She doing that move?! Tsk bad move Demeter, Hades thought evilly.

Hades summoned a dead-man, whom was Demeter true love before he was murdered in his sleep by his very own brother. Who was jealous of his bother who got everything that he wanted while he got nothing. Demeter true loved was only twenty two years old when he was murdered in his sleep and supposed to get married tomorrow. Horrible way to die when you got betrayed by your very own bother and get murdered in his sleep. ( **A/N: By the way, please don't do this at home or anywhere or your will be damned. You have been warned.** )

Demeter gasped in disbelief and at her very corner at her eye their is tears. She haven't cried since her lover death. Her poker face shattered into pieces that probably won't come back for millennia and millennia.

"Coltrane...?" She whispered under her breath.

Coltrane look lost and confused.

"Who the hell are you?" Coltrane begin to panic. "Where am I? Where is Delilah?! Oh bloody, did you do something her?! Oh oh bloody, I swear to god if you—"

"No! Oh Gods, no!" Demeter said with a British accent chuckled lightly without knowing that she lowered her guard. "I'm not a damned criminal you know."

Coltrane look surprised and then look grin sheepish.

"Oh? Your not? Oh forgive me for my inappropriate behavior." He said sheepishly. "I'm truly sorry."

Demeter tried not to blush, but she didn't think that she did a very good job at it. After all she haven't seen Coltrane for ten years. There is no law that she could blush front of her lover, right? She doesn't sound so sure, but right now who cares about the gods damn rules (or law?).

"I-it fine! I have already used to that temper with a certain bad tempered bother." She glared at her dramatic king, Zeus blushed furiously and tried to look completely innocent.

Coltrane look confused.

"What? I'm confused. Why I'm here? The last time I remembered that I'm going to bed..." He paused and then gasp at the dawn of realization. "Oh my god, don't tell me that I'm dead! bloody I was going to get marry tomorrow! Goddammit son of bitch!"

Everyone expect for Hades and Demeter stunned in shock at his such a foul language.

"What the hell?! Is this Thalia's brother?!" Leo exclaimed.

Thalia glared at Leo coldly.

"I may swear a lot, but he sucks at swearing. Only Gods in Heaven knows. Right dad?" Thalia put fake smile, but they all knew it is fake since her smile is twitching.

Zeus smiled sheepishly.

"Thalia, this is the past and I just met you. But I think you swear a lot..."

Everyone glared at Zeus like fuck-you glare.

"What?! It true!" Zeus protected.

"Zeus, go suck a dick." Hermes said.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Hermes, would you like you to sent the moral world for fifteen years?" Zeus smiled sweetly like your mother give you a cookie, but don't let Zeus fooled you his background is in flame like you have seen in anime.

"N-n-n-n-no milord."

"Good."

Everyone chuckled quietly at Zeus reaction when Hermes said...Uh..Something sexual language. (( **Good word, good word...** ))

Coltrane look at Demeter.

"Do you I know you?" Coltrane asked. "You seems look familiar."

Demeter look uncomfortable.

"Well, you know Delilah Violet?"

Coltrane beamed.

"Yes! Oh yes!"

"Um.." Demeter voice trailed off with a concern face.

 _Oh Gods...How I could explain this? Oh Gods please have mercy..._ Demeter thought panicky.

After a long time of silence, Demeter sighed.

"Coltrane...I'm Delilah Violet." Demeter declared and transformed into Delilah Violet. She has a peach skin and no sight of baby fat on her cheek. She has shoulder-length layers light brown hair. She has freckles on her nose and some of it was on her cheek. Her eyes is blue and gray mixed. She is wearing a white shoulder yoke and blue denim hot pants and black ankle boots. She is wearing a single pearl choker. She absolutely look an angel.

Almost everyone stunned at Demeter, half of the mens got a nosebleed with a pervy smile and then they got slapped by females who are near by them.

"Coltrane...I'm...Delilah." Demeter said ashamedly, expected to get slapped. But unexpectedly Coltrane hugged Demeter with tears on his eyes.

"I...I missed you, Deli—I mean, Lady Demeter." Coltrane hugged Demeter.

Demeter gasped in surprise and then started to cry of joy and hugged him.

"Coltrane..." Demeter sobbed. "Y-you can still...Can call me...Delilah."

Coltrane smiled as he started to vanishing back to the dead.

"Delilah...I will be waiting for you. No matter if your immoral, I will definitely wait for you...Delilah, I loves you so much. You can get affairs with morals. But you must move on...I, Coltrane Mckinley swear to god that I loved you within my soul." Coltrane smiled and then kissed Demeter on the lip like happy ending in fairy tales.

His body vanished from the Earth to underworld of Earth.

Demeter fall to her knees and started to sobbing, everyone felt sympathy on Demeter who lost her true love of her immortal life.

"Demeter I—"

"FUCK OFF HADES!"

"..."

"Why why...Why kids swear?" Hestia cried and sulking at the corner of the room in anime style.

"OI OI! WE AREN'T KIDS!" Everyone shouted.

"Shut up!"

"Can we read now?" Poseidon asked impatiently.

"Yes!"

"Thanks Gods...Gods really gave me mercy..." Someone muttered.

 **He laughed, but I heard a little edge to his laughter ... an uneasiness. "You've only got one talent, kid, running away.**

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU FUCKASS!" Annabeth shouted. "WE WILL SHOW YOU! THAT PERCY JACKSON ISN'T A GODS DAMN COWARD YOU FOOLS!"

 **You ran from the Chimera. You ran from the Underworld. You don't have what it takes."**

 **"Scared?"**

"In your motherfucker dreams, bitch" Thalia said angrily.

 **"In your adolescent dreams."**

"Hey Thalia—?"

"Shut the hell up, Leo. And DON'T even think about it. Got it?"

"...Got it ma'am."

"Excuse me?"

"What?"

"You called me ma'am. I'M ISN'T AN OLD LADY YOU FOOLS!"

"Yes...Uh.."

"JUST USE THE WORD YES!"

"...Aye.."

 **But his sunglasses were starting to melt from the heat of his eyes. "No direct involvement. Sorry, kid. You're not at my level."**

"Let see about it, asshole." Annabeth said angrily.

 **Annabeth said, "Percy, run!"**

"I thought that you said—"

"—Fuck off, Leo."

"WHY!? WHY PEOPLE KEPT SAYING 'FUCK OFF LEO'!?" Leo cried.

 **The giant boar charged.**

 **But I was done running from monsters. Or Hades, or Ares, or anybody.**

"Yikes...Anger Percy isn't good." Hazel said nervously.

 **As the boar rushed me, I uncapped my pen and sidestepped. Riptide appeared in my hands. I slashed upward. The boar's severed right tusk fell at my feet, while the disoriented animal charged into the sea.**

 **I shouted, "Wave!"**

 **Immediately, a wave surged up from nowhere and engulfed the boar, wrapping around it like a blanket. The beast squealed once in terror. Then it was gone, swallowed by the sea.**

"AWESOME! MOTHERFUCKING AWESOME!" Leo shrieked like a fan girl.

 **I turned back to Ares. "Are you going to fight me now?" I asked. "Or are you going to hide behind another pet?"**

 **Ares's face was purple with rage. "Watch it, kid. I could turn you into—"**

 **"A cockroach," I said. "Or a tapeworm. Yeah, I'm sure. That'd save you from getting your godly hide whipped, wouldn't it?"**

"OOOOOOOOOH!" Hermes smirked. "Buuuurn! Poseidon, I loves your kid!"

Everyone stared at Hermes in disgust.

"What?"

"You? A gay?"

"What? I'm bi. Why is that surprising?"

"...Uh..."

 **Flames danced along the top of his glasses. "Oh, man, you are really asking to be smashed into a grease spot."**

 **"If I lose, turn me into anything you want. Take the bolt. If I win, the helm and the bolt are mine and you have to go away."**

 **Ares sneered.**

 **He swung the baseball bat off his shoulder. "How would you like to get smashed: classic or modern?"**

 **I showed him my sword.**

 **"That's cool, dead boy," he said. "Classic it is." The baseball bat changed into a huge, two-handed sword. The hilt was a large silver skull with a ruby in its mouth.**

 **"Percy," Annabeth said. "Don't do this. He's a god."**

 **"He's a coward," I told her.**

"Yeah, fucking coward." Annabeth growled angrily.

 **She swallowed. "Wear this, at least. For luck."**

 **She took off her necklace, with her five years' worth of camp beads and the ring from her father, and tied it around my neck.**

 **"Reconciliation," she said. "Athena and Poseidon together."**

"Oh yeah!" Poseidon grinned.

Athena blushed.

 **My face felt a little warm, but I managed a smile. "Thanks."**

Hades groaned and then quickly covered his ears.

"EVERYONE COVERED YOUR EARS!"

Everyone groaned and then quickly covered their ears.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH! PERCY AND ANNABETH FOR LIFEEEEEEEEEEE!" Aphrodite fan girl screamed.

Some newcomer Demigods collapsed.

 **"And take this," Grover said. He handed me a flattened tin can that he'd probably been saving in his pocket for a thousand miles. "The satyrs stand behind you."**

 **"Grover ... I don't know what to say."**

 **He patted me on the shoulder. I stuffed the tin can in my back pocket.**

 **"You all done saying good-bye?" Ares came toward me, his black leather duster trailing behind him, his sword glinting like fire in the sunrise. "I've been fighting for eternity, kid. My strength is unlimited and I cannot die. What have you got?"**

"He got friendship you fucker!" Thalia fumed.

Everyone look at Thalia like she is an angel.

"What? Let say, I'm gifted." Thalia shrugged.

"I like you." Some Demigod said and then got punched in the face by some shadow, it was too quick to see.

"HALLELUJAH FUCKERS!" Thalia cheered.

 **A smaller ego, I thought, but I said nothing. I kept my feet in the surf, backing into the water up to my ankles. I thought back to what Annabeth had said at the Denver diner, so long ago: Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to how to wisdom sometimes.**

Annabeth smirked.

"So he really listen."

 **He cleaved downward at my head, but I wasn't there.**

 **My body thought for me. The water seemed to push me into the air and I catapulted over him, slashing as I came down. But Ares was just as quick. He twisted, and the strike that should've caught him directly in the spine was deflected off the end of his sword hilt.**

 **He grinned. "Not bad, not bad."**

 **He slashed again and I was forced to jump onto dry land. I tried to sidestep, to get back to the water, but Ares seemed to know what I wanted. He outmaneuvered me, pressing so hard I had to put all my concentration on not getting sliced into pieces. I kept backing away from the surf. I couldn't find any openings to attack. His sword had a reach several feet longer than Anaklusmos.**

 **Get in close, Luke had told me once, back in our sword class. When you've got the shorter blade, get in close.**

Demigods who knew Luke palpitated.

 **I stepped inside with a thrust, but Ares was waiting for that. He knocked my blade out of my hands and kicked me in the chest. I went airborne—twenty, maybe thirty feet. I would've broken my back if I hadn't crashed into the soft sand of a dune.**

Everyone winced and grimaced at this.

 **"Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "Cops!"**

"FUCK! FUCK THE COPS! FUUUUUCK!" Poseidon cursed.

 **I was seeing double. My chest felt like it had just been hit with a battering ram, but I managed to get to my feet.**

"Ouch...That gonna hurt as hell." Leo exclaimed.

 **I couldn't look away from Ares for fear he'd slice me in half, but out of the corner of my eye I saw red lights flashing on the shoreline boulevard. Car doors were slamming.**

 **"There, officer!" somebody yelled. "See?"**

 **A gruff cop voice: "Looks like that kid on TV ... what the heck ..."**

"Yeah." Leo agreed. "What the heck?"

 **"That guy's armed," another cop said. "Call for backup."**

 **I rolled to one side as Ares's blade slashed the sand.**

 **I ran for my sword, scooped it up, and launched a swipe at Ares's face, only to find my blade deflected again.**

 **Ares seemed to know exactly what I was going to do the moment before I did it.**

 **I stepped back toward the surf, forcing him to follow.**

 **"Admit it, kid," Ares said. "You got no hope. I'm just toying with you."**

 **My senses were working overtime. I now understood what Annabeth had said about ADHD keeping you alive in battle. I was wide awake, noticing every little detail.**

"That is part that we like about ADHD.." Demigods deadpanned.

 **I could see where Ares was tensing. I could tell which way he would strike. At the same time, I was aware of Annabeth and Grover, thirty feet to my left. I saw a second cop car pulling up, siren wailing. Spectators, people who had been wandering the streets because of the earthquake, were starting to gather. Among the crowd, I thought I saw a few who were walking with the strange, trotting gait of disguised satyrs. There were shimmering forms of spirits, too, as if the dead had risen from Hades to watch the battle. I heard the flap of leathery wings circling somewhere above.**

"Fuck."

 **More sirens.**

"Bullshit sirens."

 **I stepped farther into the water, but Ares was fast. The tip of his blade ripped my sleeve and grazed my forearm.**

 **A police voice on a megaphone said, "Drop the guns.' Set them on the ground. Now!"**

"Guns?" Jason asked.

 **Guns?**

"SON OF BITCH!" Jason cursed. "I could have sworn that Percy and I are twins..."

 **I looked at Ares's weapon, and it seemed to be flickering; sometimes it looked like a shotgun, sometimes a two-handed sword. I didn't know what the humans were seeing in my hands, but I was pretty sure it wouldn't make them like me.**

 **Ares turned to glare at our spectators, which gave me a moment to breathe. There were five police cars now, and a line of officers crouching behind them, pistols trained on us.**

 **"This is a private matter!" Ares bellowed. "Be gone.'"**

"Oh no." Hestia said look worried for the morals.

 **He swept his hand, and a wall of red flame rolled across the patrol cars. The police barely had time to dive for cover before their vehicles exploded. The crowd behind them scattered, screaming.**

"THAT SON OF—" Hestia roared. "HE HAVE NO RIGHT TO HURT THEM! THEY HAVE FAMILIES!"

 **Ares roared with laughter. "Now, little hero. Let's add you to the barbecue."**

"When I see him again I swear on the Gaea's name that I will—"

"Poseidon." Athena warned.

Poseidon pouted.

 **He slashed. I deflected his blade. I got close enough to strike, tried to fake him out with a feint, but my blow was knocked aside. The waves were hitting me in the back now. Ares was up to his thighs, wading in after me.**

 **I felt the rhythm of the sea, the waves growing larger as the tide rolled in, and suddenly I had an idea. Little waves, I thought. And the water behind me seemed to recede. I was holding back the tide by force of will, but tension was building, like carbonation behind a cork.**

 **Ares came toward, grinning confidently. I lowered my blade, as if I were too exhausted to go on. Wait for it, I told the sea. The pressure now was almost lifting me off my feet. Ares raised his sword. I released the tide and jumped, rocketing straight over Ares on a wave.**

 **A six-foot wall of water smashed him full in the face, leaving him cursing and sputtering with a mouth full of seaweed.**

"I like it..." Poseidon said thoughtfully and then grinned. "Thanks for the idea Percy."

 _Oh boy_ , Olympians thought and having a bad feeling about Poseidon planning.

 **I landed behind him with a splash and feinted toward his head, as I'd done before. He turned in time to raise his sword, but this time he was disoriented, he didn't anticipate the trick. I changed direction, lunged to the side, and stabbed Riptide straight down into the water, sending the point through the god's heel.**

 **The roar that followed made Hades's earthquake look like a minor event. The very sea was blasted back from Ares, leaving a wet circle of sand fifty feet wide.**

"THE HELL!? HE DEFEATED ARES!? HOLY FUCKING SHIT!" Olympians gaped.

 **Ichor, the golden blood of the gods, flowed from a gash in the war god's boot. The expression on his face was beyond hatred. It was pain, shock, complete disbelief that he'd been wounded.**

 **He limped toward me, muttering ancient Greek curses.**

 **Something stopped him.**

 **It was as if a cloud covered the sun, but worse. Light faded. Sound and color drained away. A cold, heavy presence passed over the beach, slowing time, dropping the temperature to freezing, and making me feel like life was hopeless, fighting was useless.**

"Oh Gods no..."

 **The darkness lifted.**

"FUCK FATHER! FUCK FATES!" Zeus screamed.

 **Ares looked stunned.**

 **Police cars were burning behind us. The crowd of spectators had fled. Annabeth and Grover stood on the beach, in shock, watching the water flood back around Ares's feet, his glowing golden ichor dissipating in the tide.**

 **Ares lowered his sword.**

 **"You have made an enemy, godling," he told me. "You have sealed your fate. Every time you raise your blade in battle, every time you hope for success, you will feel my curse. Beware, Perseus Jackson. Beware."**

"HE CURSED MY SON?!" Poseidon fumed. "That son of bitch! He. Will. Face. My. Wrath!"

Everyone paled.

Rest and peace Ares, everyone thought.

 **His body began to glow.**

Jason flinched, remembering at that time when Hera show her true form.

 **'''Percy!" Annabeth shouted. "Don't watch!"**

 **I turned away as the god Ares revealed his true immortal form. I somehow knew that if I looked, I would disintegrate into ashes.**

Jason once again flinched.

 **The light died.**

 **I looked back. Ares was gone. The tide rolled out to reveal Hades's bronze helm of darkness. I picked it up and walked toward my friends.**

 **But before I got there, I heard the flapping of leathery wings. Three evil-looking grandmothers with lace hats and fiery whips drifted down from the sky and landed in front of me.**

"WHY!?" Poseidon cried.

 **The middle Fury, the one who had been Mrs. Dodds, stepped forward. Her fangs were bared, but for once she didn't look threatening. She looked more disappointed, as if she'd been planning to have me for supper, but had decided I might give her indigestion.**

 **"We saw the whole thing," she hissed. "So ... it truly was not you?"**

"YES!"

 **I tossed her the helmet, which she caught in surprise.**

 **"Return that to Lord Hades," I said. "Tell him the truth. Tell him to call off the war."**

 **She hesitated, then ran a forked tongue over her green, leathery lips. "Live well, Percy Jackson. Become a true hero. Because if you do not, if you ever come into my clutches again ..."**

Everyone flinched.

 **She cackled, savoring the idea. Then she and her sisters rose on their bats' wings, fluttered into the smoke-filled sky, and disappeared.**

 **I joined Grover and Annabeth, who were staring at me in amazement.**

 **"Percy ..." Grover said. "That was so incredibly ..."**

"BADASS!" Everyone shouted.

 **"Terrifying," said Annabeth.**

 **"Cool!" Grover corrected.**

Everyone chuckled.

 **I didn't feel terrified. I certainly didn't feel cool. I was tired and sore and completely drained of energy.**

The child of the big three sighed.

"I can feel ya."

 **"Did you guys feel that... whatever it was?" I asked.**

 **They both nodded uneasily.**

 **"Must've been the Furies overhead," Grover said.**

 **But I wasn't so sure. Something had stopped Ares from killing me, and whatever could do that was a lot stronger than the Furies.**

 **I looked at Annabeth, and an understanding passed between us. I knew now what was in that pit, what had spoken from the entrance of Tartarus.**

The room went cold by a couple degrees and the hearth died a little.

 **I reclaimed my backpack from Grover and looked inside. The master bolt was still there. Such a small thing to almost cause World War III.**

 **"We have to get back to New York," I said. "By tonight."**

 **"That's impossible," Annabeth said, "unless we—"**

 **"Fly," I agreed.**

"DON'T DO IT SON!"

Zeus grinned like he got his wish.

"YES!"

 **She stared at me. "Fly, like, in an airplane, which you were warned never to do lest Zeus strike you out of the sky, and carrying a weapon that has more destructive power than a nuclear bomb?"**

 **"Yeah," I said. "Pretty much exactly like that. Come on."**

"Who want to read next?" Hera asked.

"Me." Hades said.

Poseidon handed over the book to God of the Death

" **I Settle My Tab**." Hades read out loud.


	23. Announcement

**This isn't a chapter, this is a note!**

 ** _Guys, I won't be updating for two weeks...I know I know you won't happy to hear about it. But I'm visiting an friend that I haven't seen for four years. Even though she got cancer like three years ago; I'm three years late...But I'm going to visit in the America for two weeks. And I'll see if you are being patient then I'll sent the bonus chapter about Percy Jackson first arrived to the Void._** ** _IF_** ** _. Okay? Only 'if' to see if your patient and ZERO flame or bad comments. ;) I'll be back, in two weeks!_**

 ** _Sincerely,_**

 ** _Tantei Otaku-kun_**


	24. I Settle My Tab

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

Lintsu13:Thanks! Welp, I'm back! The two weeks was a little longer then you've expected to be..I apologized for that…

Godess Bubbles: I'm planning for that! Making a sequel! I'm so excited for it! ^…^ Honestly, I have never know this book will be over soon…I have to admit it, I'm kinda sad for it and proud what I've accomplished so far! So much mixed emotion! :)

AllHailtotheSassyQueen: Indeed, she is feelin' better! Also, thanks you for your kindness compliment!

I'M BACK EVERYONE! I'VE BEEN VERY EAGER TO GET THE HELL BACK TO TYPING! I just couldn't wait any longer, I just 'ran' from the airport to my home. As soon I got home, I just ran to my room and get my laptop and start typing. Gods, I just couldn't help it…I'm very sorry for long wait, the two weeks are a little bit longer then I or any of you expected to be, I apologize for the wait. Also as I see there isn't any flame or bad comment, there will be a bonus chapter of Percy Jackson first arrived to the Void. There will be a lot of work for THAT, but it will be fun though! Also…THANKS YOU GUYS FOR THE 120 FAVORITES AND 151 FOLLOWS! (The last time I check...Lol, I don't know why it seemed to be so hilarious to me. Ha ha I'm so weird. *sweatdropped and laughed dryly at myself*) To be a frank, I have never even thought the book will reach that far! For your reward…DUN DUN DUUUUN! This chapter will be long and very very funny! (Honest!) Please tell me why it's so funny! (I'm not forcing you, I just want to know why it's so funny!) Comment about it! I work very hard on the one, because this is actually the LONGEST writing ever since back then..Anyway I hoped you enjoy the chapter~! :)

WARNING FOR THE SOME SEXUAL LANGUAGES, MATURELY ADULT STRONG LANGUAGE, VIOLENT, AND SOME BLOOD GORE! NOW YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

ALSO!

THERE WILL BE COUPLE CROSSOVER HERE! DON'T LIKE, FEEL FREE TO SKIP IT!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! MY LOYAL READERS!

* * *

Leo's eyes widen in shock and then started to grin happily.

"REALLY!?" Leo asked and then clapped his hands playfully and playfully singing. "We're done reading, we're done reading! We're don—"

BONK!

"OW!" Leo cried. "Annabeth, what the fuck?!"

Annabeth glared at Leo like, you-know-why glare.

Leo pouted.

"I hate you."

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I don't care."

"Fuck your shit."

"EXCUSED ME?!"

"What? You said you don't care." Leo smirked innocently like there is actual angel's halos above his head.

Annabeth sputtered and then groaned knowing that he got her.

"Fuck you."

Leo beamed.

"Thanks!"

Almost everyone gave Leo a weird look like dude-what-is-wrong-with-you look.

Leo just shrugged.

 **It's funny how humans can wrap their mind around things and fit them into their version of reality.**

Hermes paused for second.

"Oh yeah, isn't it weird?"

"Oh shut your mouth." Athena rolled her eyes.

 **Chiron had told me that long ago. As usual, I didn't appreciate his wisdom until much later.**

The Demigods nodded seriously.

"It pretty useful. Thanks the Olympus that we've Chiron." Clarisse said seriously. "If we don't, we will be dead and uh, the eldest's Gods father will killed us all."

Every Olympians paled at 'what if'.

"Thanks to Gaea's name that we didn't get rid of Chiron." One of Olympians muttered.

 **According to the L.A. news, the explosion at the Santa Monica beach had been caused when a crazy kidnapper fired a shotgun at a police car.**

"Heh heh heh...C-c-heh...heh...Crazy k-kidnapper?" Hermes said between laughter and at the very corner of his eye is tears; laugher tears.

"Hear that Ares? YOUR A CRAZY MOTHERFUCKING KIDNAPPER!" Athena laughed hysterically like insane.

ALMOST everyone tried to scoot away from insane Athena.

 **He accidentally hit a gas main that had ruptured during the earthquake.**

Hestia look very wrathful; feeling compassion for those poor people who has families that are suffering.

"How dare he?!" Hestia roared angrily. "He will face his doom..." Hestia fumed and cackled as her darkest aura spread; mostly everyone gulped and shuddered. They knew that Ares won't able to run away from Hestia's deadly wrath.

 **This crazy kidnapper (a.k.a. Ares)—**

At this point Athena giggled insanely. Mostly everyone gave Athena a weird look.

 **—was the same man who had abducted me and two other adolescents in New York and brought us across country on a ten-day odyssey of terror.**

 **Poor little Percy Jackson wasn't an international criminal after all.**

"DAMN RIGHT!" Poseidon growled. "Foolish moral's mistakes."

 **He'd caused a commotion on that Greyhound bus in New Jersey trying to get away from his captor (and afterward, witnesses would even swear they had seen the leather-clad man on the bus—"Why didn't I remember him before?").**

Everyone rolled their eyes at their stupidity.

 **The crazy man had caused the explosion in the St. Louis Arch. After all, no kid could've done that.**

"Well...It kinda was Grover's and Annie's fault. Since they foolishly left him behind." Thalia said sarcastically.

"HEY! IT WAS NOT!"

"IT WAS!"

"IT WAS NOT!"

"IT WAS!"

"THAT IS IT!"

Annabeth suddenly tackled Thalia in a football way.

"YOU LITTLE SON OF BITC—GAAAAAH!"

Annabeth tried to bite Thalia's wrist to try to break it by her own (strong) teeth.

Thalia was furious and she raised her hand and then pointed at Annabeth.

The Demigods look like they are gonna passed out, they knew what Thalia is doing.

"FOR ZEUS!" Thalia screamed at Annabeth and the clouds begins to rumbles and then the lightning bolt appeared from no where and strike a blue lightning bolt at Annabeth.

"WHAT!? NO FAIR! YOU CHEA—"

KA-BOOM!

Annabeth's hair went insane and her hair was lightning bolt shooting in the air. And her face was pitch black and her eyes look shock like you have seen in cartoon.

Annabeth just coughed and some grey smoke appeared in the air.

Thalia snickered at Annabeth's hair.

"AHA! I WIN!" Thalia said happily.

Annabeth entered rage mode.

"Oh no you don't!" Annabeth yelled angrily.

Thalia grumbled and in her mind she was little shock that Annabeth survived her deadly lightning bolt ( **A/N: When Demigods are immortal they usually passed out or, but it almost rare they die from it. Almost. Anyway it is impossible that immoral Demigods survived a lightning bolt without passing out or die.** )

Annabeth made her first move, she threw her cursed dagger at Thalia.

Huh, easier than I thought it would be, Thalia thought smugly without realizing her ego ( **or you say Fatal Flaw?** ) (( **If you don't know her Fatal Flaw is, ambition, but I'mma going to changed it, will be hubris. Why: because Child of Zeus, has the worst ego in the Olympians.** )) has taken over control her.

But suddenly Annabeth grabbed a smoke bomb and then threw it at Thalia.

Thalia started to gagged when she 'accidentally' breathe the smoke.

Annabeth suddenly appeared in front of Thalia from the smoke fog, that she used couple seconds ago.

 _What the—!?_ , Thalia thought panicky.

Annabeth made her second move; she biffed Thalia in the face.

Everyone gaped, it look like they have peed in their pant/skirt.

The mighty daughter of Zeus was defeated by Athena's child.

There is a popping vein on Annabeth's forehead like you seen in Anime ( **I guess, I watch too much Anime these days...*sigh*** )and her background is burning in flame. While Thalia eyes were squiggly eyes like you seen in Anime and it look like there is a ghost coming out of the mouth once again like you seen in Anime.

 **A concerned waitress in Denver had seen the man threatening his abductees outside her diner, gotten a friend to take a photo, and notified the police. Finally, brave Percy Jackson (I was beginning to like this kid)—**

Almost everyone rolled they're eyes.

"Duh, he always brave. He is like one of the bravest legendary hero at all time, not ever since the legendary British King Arthur Pendragon alongside of the legendary warlock; Merlin." Athena said in curiosity. "Merlin is one of the last greatest son of Hecate who has disappeared millennia years ago and haven't been found again nor even Hecate cannot find him. But Hades kept saying that he isn't dead."

Hades huffed.

"Unlike people would believed me. Since I'm God of Underworld..."

Everyone look slightly guilty.

 **—had stolen a gun from his captor in Los Angeles and battled him shotgun-to-rifle on the beach. Police had arrived just in time. But in the spectacular explosion, five police cars had been destroyed and the captor had fled. No fatalities had occurred. Percy Jackson and his two friends were safely in police custody.**

 **The reporters fed us this whole story. We just nodded and acted tearful and exhausted (which wasn't hard)—**

* * *

(There is unexpected little crossover, you have been warned.)

*In the 1997, in the future.*

* * *

Suddenly Conan Edogawa (whom is currently under alias of seventeen years old high school famed detective; Shinichi Kudo son of Yusaku Kudo ((who is famed author in the world. He like the legendary author. Anyway he sell about 1 billion books in world wide.)) Yukiko Kudo ((who is the legendary actress in the world; but now retired when she got pregnant. But amazingly she is still famous. She is beautiful as the Goddess Aphrodite, good thing that Aphrodite didn't cursed Yukiko Kudo or get dangerously jealous like Athena who cursed Arachne became of her jealously and rage and cursed Medusa because of her jealously when Medusa and her sisters raped Poseidon while Poseidon were unconscious, when Medusa and her sisters poisoned Poseidon. ((( **HEY! THAT WASN'T TRUE! AUTHOR-BAKA YOU WILL FEEL MY CURSE! Athena screamed.** ))) Because secretly Yukiko Kudo is actually daughter of Aphrodite and Yusaku is actually formerly known as the last descendant of child of Death and son of Dike the ancient Greek goddess of justice, fair judgements and the rights established by custom and law.))

started to sneezed all the sudden.

Ai Haibara, daughter of Athena, smirked.

"I heard they say when you sneeze—"

"—Shut your mouth Haibara. I swear to Kami-sama, I will kill you if talk one more time..." Conan Edogawa warned and then storm off.

Ai Haibara whistled.

"Hmm, seems someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"SHUT UP! I CAN STILL HEAR YOU HAIBARA!" Conan Edogawa shouted.

Ai Haibara chuckled.

* * *

((The crossover ends))

* * *

Aphrodite paused.

 _This kinda reminded of someone_... Aphrodite thought.

 **—and played victimized kids for the cameras.**

Everyone chuckled at the imagination.

 **"All I want," I said, choking back my tears, "is to see my loving stepfather again.**

Everyone gritted their teeth in hatred.

 **Every time I saw him on TV, calling me a delinquent punk—**

"THAT BASTARD!" Poseidon roared as he entered rage mode. "MOTHERFUCKING BASTARD!"

"Once I get his birth date and his home address...He will feel my curse..." Poseidon muttered angrily.

Everyone shivered.

 **—I knew ... somehow ... we would be okay. And I know he'll want to reward each and every person in this beautiful city of Los Angeles with a free major appliance from his store. Here's the phone number." The police and reporters were so moved that they passed around the hat and raised money for three tickets on the next plane to New York.**

Poseidon groaned and moaned like he got air sickness, while Zeus grinned is getting bigger.

"Fuck the quest, fuck the plane, fuck the war, FUCK ARES, FUUUUUUUCK THAT COLDHEARTED BASTARD!" Poseidon screamed in uncontrollable rage.

Everyone winced at Poseidon voice.

 **I knew there was no choice but to fly. I hoped Zeus would cut me some slack, considering the circumstances.**

"Oh you better leave him live.." Poseidon warned. "Or you will face the fall of Olympus."

Zeus huffed and whispered to hisself quietly.

"Damned you prophecy..."

 **But it was still hard to force myself on board the flight.**

The Olympians laughed, but Zeus was the loudest.

"Like a father like a son." Hermes chuckled.

Poseidon blushed furiously.

"S-shut up!"

 **Takeoff was a nightmare. Every spot of turbulence was scarier than a Greek monster. I didn't unclench my hands from the armrests until we touched down safely at La Guardia.**

"Man...I wish that I was there." Leo pouted. "Too bad, so bad. I was too busy from running away from that _hellhole_."

Almost everyone gave Leo a weird look, expect for Piper and Jason they knew what Leo is talking about.

 **The local press was waiting for us outside security, but we managed to evade them thanks to Annabeth, who lured them away in her invisible Yankees cap, shouting, "They're over by the frozen yogurt! Come on!" then rejoined us at baggage claim.**

 **We split up at the taxi stand. I told Annabeth and Grover to get back to Half-Blood Hill and let Chiron know what had happened. They protested, and it was hard to let them go after all we'd been through, but I knew I had to do this last part of the quest by myself. If things went wrong, if the gods didn't believe me...**

"Oh, thank Gaea's name that we have Apollo here...Even if he is a annoying bitchy _boy_. He can always can tell people if they are tell a truth.." Artemis muttered regrettably.

Apollo-the-cloud look offended and then the cloud become stormy and small lightning bolt. It look like he is deadly offended.

 _Artemis...You bastard.._ Apollo thought angrily.

 **I wanted Annabeth and Grover to survive to tell Chiron the truth.**

Connor and Travis grinned.

"It sound like he is saying that Annie and Grover must survive Chiron to tell the truth."

While the twin is laughing, everyone gave the twin a weird look like are-you-freakin'-shitting-me look.

 **I hopped in a taxi and headed into Manhattan.**

 **Thirty minutes later, I walked into the lobby of the Empire State Building.**

 **I must have looked like a homeless kid, with my tattered clothes and my scraped-up face.**

Hades groaned like he foresaw a future that won't be any good. He quickly covered his ears.

"EVERYONE COVERED YOUR DAMNED EARS QUICKLY!" Hades shouted and warned the others.

Everyone groaned loudly and then quickly covered their ears.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! HOW HORRIBLE! GET A NEW DAMNED OUTFIT! GODS DAMMMMMMMMIT!" You-know-who screeched.

Hades groaned.

"Woman are you tryin' to make me deaf?!" Hades whined.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Aphrodite screamed and her eyes were starry eyes like you seen anime and her background were burning in passion.

Hades chose wisely to shut up. He haven't never seen Aphrodite so pissed off.

 **I hadn't slept in at least twenty-four hours.**

Hermes whistled.

"Damn...Hypnos, won't be happy when he hear about it.."

Athena look at Hermes.

"Why you even mentioned that bastard, just now.." Athena whined.

Hermes shrugged like he don't really care.

"It wasn't my fault that you didn't slept for two full weeks, without a blink an eye." Hermes shivered. "Jesus Christ, you look like one of your creepy owls just died. And then our 'savior' saved you, you haven't a wake up like in ten years."

Athena look pissed, like deadly pissed off.

"First of all, Hermes I WAS FUCKING WORKING FOR THE FUCKING TROJAN WAR! I DON'T HAVE ANY TIME FOR THE GODS DAMN SLEEP! SECOND OF ALL, FOR YOUR INFORMATION IT ACTUALLY FIVE YEARS NOT TEN YEARS YOU BUTTHEAD!" Athena shouted in uncontrollable rage. "AND THAT BASTARD SHOULDN'T PUT ME TO SLEEP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FUCKING WAR!"

Hermes rolled his eyes.

"You still need some sleep. Or you burn into dust."

"YOUR AREN'T MY MOTHER NOR FATHER YOU IDIOTIC FOOL!"

"I'm not saying like a father nor a mother. I'm just saying as a friend."

"..."

"..."

"Dude..? Are you alright?" Hermes asked, won't dare admit that he is worried. Athena usually insulted back or changed the subject. This is unexpected.

"D-d-don't call me 'dude'."

Hermes' eyes widened in shock.

"Are you crying?"

"I don't give a flying fuck that I'm crying. I'm just happy. That's all. I really don't have a friend. Because I once have a friends in the past, but they betrayed me."

"Oh..." Hermes said. "Well, I'm your friend now!" (( **Fuck, I watched and read too much of Naruto! (˃̶͈̀ロ˂̶͈́) His kindness is too much...*the bright light shined on me and my eyes were teary like you seen in Anime.***

 ** _Me: I'm going to die as a proud Detective Otaku-kun fan..!_**

 ** _Mayeda Hisato (my neighbor): *just randomly appeared and stared at me like he saw me doing something stupid again.* Dude. Your only twenty s—!_**

 ** _Me: *jump and covered his mouth with my single hand* You bastard! It RUDE to tell our readers to say my actual age!_**

 ** _Mayeda Hisato: 'readers?' *look at you* Uh,tell me what the actual fuck is goin' on here. Did you something stupid again? I swear to Kami-sama if you—!_**

 ** _Me: WHAT?! OH FUCK NO! I'M JUST (making a pathetic excuse) UH SAYING HI TO THE NAME 'READER'!_**

 ** _Mayeda Hisato: *rise his eyebrows suspiciously* How the fuck the birth mothers gave their child name 'reader'?_**

 ** _Me: *getting pissed* I think I know why._**

 ** _Mayeda Hisato: *look at me in a suspicious look * Really, huh? Tell me then?_**

 ** _Me: The answer is, fuck off and then go eat your shit._**

 ** _Mayeda Hisato: ..._**

 ** _Me: Well? Get the hell outta here._**

 ** _*Mayeda Hisato leaves*_**

 ** _Me: Honestly that bastard is so stupid._** ))

Athena look like she is going to cry again.

"Hermes..." Poseidon said coldly and sound like he is going to kill him brutally.

Hermes paled and sweating like crazy and his heart beat is going insane and his hair went from brown ( **I always thought that Hermes' hair is brown. But hey, it's been awhile since I last read Percy Jackson...** ) to white and grayish. He closed his eyes praying for Fate's mercy that he is too young to die even though he about couple millennia years old. As he opened his eyes, he turned around slowly.

"Y-y-y-yes m-m-m-milord?" Deeply inside of Hermes, he is freaking out. Treason! Treason! The mighty ( **For your information, I accidentally typed the word 'nutty' lol. I thought it was hilarious.** ) emissary and messenger of the gods, divine trickster and the god of boundaries and the transgression of boundaries, the patron of herdsmen, thieves, graves, and heralds. Got scared of a uncool and anger issue Uncle. That sound pretty stupid. But hey, he got scared alright!? There's no way that you should never rolled your damn eyes at the mighty trickster!

"Would you be my man of honor?" Poseidon asked gleefully.

Hermes immediately fall to the ground in Orz anime/manga style.

 _P-Poseidon...You little bastard..You scared me to half death. I thought I'm going to straight to Hell..I'm so going to strangle you to death!_ Hermes thought angrily with a popped vein on his forehead.

Suddenly his expression changed into a squiggle eyes in anime style.

 _Wait the damn minute...D-d-did he just said...?_

 _No._

 _Fuckin'._

 _Way._

"ARE YOU FUCKIN' KIDDING ME?!" Hermes shouted. "FOR GAEA'S SAKE, YES I WILL BE YOUR DAMN MAN OF HONOR!"

Poseidon grinned.

"Glad to hear it pal!"

Hermes is literally crying with a light shining on him with some starry stars around his face and his fist is near by his chest.

 _Oh great mighty Gods in heaven...You must've blessed me.. Thanks you Heaven..._ Hermes thought and wiped his 'manly' tears.

Hera and Zeus stared at Hermes like what-the-actual-fuck look.

Secretly Hera and Zeus heard that 'prayer' in their mind. Since they are King and Queen of Heaven.

 **I went up to the guard at the front desk and said, "Six hundredth floor."**

 **He was reading a huge book with a picture of a wizard on the front.**

"OOOH HARRY FREAKIN' POTTER!" Annabeth fan girl screamed.

The Olympians only stared at her if she is nut. But then..

"YOU READ HARRY FUCKIN' POTTER!?" Thalia shrieked, it probably the worst then Aphrodite. "NO FREAKING WAY!"

"I READ HARRY POTTER TOO!" Leo shouted.

"Shut up! Everyone read Harry Potter!" Piper hissed Leo. "Not a single person don't read it."

"Um, but I don't." Jason said, look embarrassed.

"You...WHAT?" Piper said darkly.

Jason is started to sweating so hard.

Angry Piper equal no good.

"I...I don't read Harry Potter?" Jason just wanted to slap himself for making the answer into a foolish question. Ugh...He's making a big mistake, here. Oh that's so fan-fucking-tastic! _Great going Jason._ He thought sarcastically.

"Listen up you bastard..." Piper said darkly and looking deadly murderous. "I want you to go to that corner of the room and read the all freaking volume of Harry Potter...NO BUTS!"

Jason paled, he rather fight a another fucking Giants like back then during the beginning of Giant War then reading all the Harry Potter books...Now he gets it, NEVER EVER messes up a angry girlfriend or a mother...

Jason groaned.

"Here ya Harry Potter books..." Annabeth said without a pity and gave Jason Harry Potter books.

"Oh fuck.." Jason cursed as he saw how thick it is. Man...Why I deserve this...Oh fuck you Fates..

Jason walked to corner of the room and started to read.

"How could them...Fucking bastard. I will kill them...How dare they put their own nephew in that..." Jason muttered angrily.

Some time later...

"THAT SON OF—! HOW COULD THEY?! FUUUUCKAAAARD!" Jason shouted angrily.

The Demigods look uncomfortable when Jason said that, after all he's son of Zeus. Angry issued...But they knew that Jason just read that fat bastards don't even dare celebrate Harry's birthday.

Jason started to chuckled.

"Oh yesss..." Jason hissed happily. "That fuckard deserve that...I hope that mouse tail on his butt is permanent...Thanks you..."

Some time later..

"Wow...I can't even believe that Voldemort killed Harry's parents..Man..They shouldn't have that terrible fate.."

Some time later..

"Man...Hermione reminded me of certain friend of mine..." Jason muttered.

Almost everyone expect for the Olympians stared at Annabeth.

Annabeth blushed furiously and then started to chuckled nervously.

Some time later..

"Holy Jupiter's name...That old guy reminded of Merlin..Those similarly...HOLY JUPITER'S BEARD! DID MERLIN HAVE A FREAKING DESCENDANTS?!...Oh wait..." Jason muttered.

Everyone chuckled at Jason, while Zeus who is kept groaning about his headaches.

Some time later..

"Oh fuck you prophecy..Fuck, fuck, fuck, and fuck you. WHY YOU APPEARED EVERY SINGLE TIME! DAMNED YOU BASTARD APOLLO!" Jason cursed.

While everyone tried to stop laughing, but they couldn't help it. Apollo look deadly offended.

 _How could you?!_ Apollo thought angrily.

Some time later..

"How could he possibly put his wand under the troll's..." Jason paused to think about it and then started to groaned. "Disgusting..Great, I should stop hanging out with Piper along with her insane stepsisters.."

Piper rolled her eyes. Her stepsisters always 'followed' *cough* stalking *cough* her and Jason everywhere. Which it sound creepy.

Some time later...

"Man...I can't even believed that Quirinus Quirrell is actually...Oh damn you Voldemort...Hospital again? Man...Why am I got a feeling that Harry is a hospital and injured magnet..?"

The Demigods snickered.

You have no freaking idea, the Demigods thought at the same time.

Twelve hours later ( **without Jason going to sleep or a blink an eye. Poor boy is going to suffer a bad day soon..** )

Jason is now on Harry Potter The Deathly Hallows.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA—Wait a second..HARRY POTTER IS DEAD?! NO WAY! NOOOOOOO!" Jason shouted with tears. I'll tell you what, Jason got a new favorite character.

Two minutes later..

"OOOOH YEAAAAH! HAHAHAHAH! SURPRISE YA MOTHERFUCKERS! HARRY POTTER IS ALIVE, DAMMIT!" Jason cheered.

Everyone sweat dropped.

Some time later..

Jason clearly look like he is going to cry.

"W-w-what a shocking happy ending..." Jason sniffed and wiped his tears. " _J. K. Rowing_ ( **I think I spell her name right...Be honest her name always confused me.** ) is one of a greatest author at all times.."

Piper and so others Harry Potter's fan nodded seriously.

"Damn right." Thalia said.

Hestia sweat dropped.

 _This situation is getting too ridiculous then I expected to be.._ Hestia thought.

 **I wasn't much into fantasy, but the book must've been good—**

"IT'S HARRY POTTER YOU DUMBASS!" Clarisse shouted.

Athena sighed.

Even though Athena have no idea what is _Harry Potter_ is, but it can be a different story.

 **—because the guard took a while to look up. "No such floor, kiddo."**

 **"I need an audience with Zeus."**

 **He gave me a vacant smile. "Sorry?"**

 **"You heard me."**

"Ooooh! Percy-sassy-talk!" Hermes chuckled. "I got to meet this guy someday."

Poseidon groaned and secretly prayed to Fates that Hermes won't.

 **I was about to decide this guy was just a regular mortal, and I'd better run for it before he called the straitjacket patrol, when he said, "No appointment, no audience, kiddo. Lord Zeus doesn't see anyone unannounced."**

 **"Oh, I think he'll make an exception." I slipped off my backpack and unzipped the top.**

 **The guard looked inside at the metal cylinder, not getting what it was for a few seconds. Then his face went pale. "That isn't..."**

"Oh yes it is." Zeus frowned.

 **"Yes, it is," I promised. "You want me take it out and—"**

"Like a Uncle like a nephew." Hermes grinned.

"HERMES YOU SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH NOW!" Zeus screamed with some blush on his cheek.

 **"No! No!" He scrambled out of his seat, fumbled around his desk for a key card, then handed it to me. "Insert this in the security slot. Make sure nobody else is in the elevator with you."**

"Dumbass, does Percy look like he got company with him? Oh what a dumbass." Annabeth said.

 **I did as he told me. As soon as the elevator doors closed, I slipped the key into the slot. The card disappeared and a new button appeared on the console, a red one that said 600.**

 **I pressed it and waited, and waited.**

Muzak played. "Raindrops keep falling on my head..."

"Oh for fuck's sake.." Artemis muttered angrily.

Olympians groaned.

 _Is there something wrong with my music?_ Apollo thought.

 **Finally, ding. The doors slid open. I stepped out and almost had a heart attack.**

Zeus laughed.

"JUST LIKE OCEAN'S BEARD!"

"SHUT UP YOU BASTARD!"

"Boys...No fighting. Or I'll call Mother Rhea.." Hestia warned.

The brothers wisely shut up.

 **I was standing on a narrow stone walkway in the middle of the air. Below me was Manhattan, from the height of an airplane. In front of me, white marble steps wound up the spine of a cloud, into the sky. My eyes followed the stairway to its end, where my brain just could not accept what I saw.**

"Believe it, bro." Hermes grinned.

 **Look again, my brain said.**

 **We're looking, my eyes insisted. It's really there.**

"Duh. If is not...You probably went the wrong cloud." Hermes joked.

"OH SHUT UP! IT WAS JUST AN FREAK ACCIDENT YOU IDIOT!" Zeus shouted while his face look like he is going to die from embarrassment. "Man...I should have made you guys sworn in a River Styx..."

"Still it's funny."

"Oooh! Tell me about it!" Connor asked his father in excitement.

"Oh no. Oh Gods no..Hermes don't even think about it." Zeus warned, but it was too late. Hermes just begin his tale.

"Okay, one time like ages ago..Zeus woke up in a 'wrong' side of the bed as he 'told' me..."

"Oh fuck you, Hermes, fuck you."

Hermes just smiled back.

"Anyway, when he flashed out to go to the meeting. However, he 'accidentally' move the Olympians cloud or what ever you call it, to Tokyo in the Japan. It was like what the actual fuck?! So that when how Japan got tsunami and earthquake and bunch of weirdo shit weathers. So later on Zeus finally realized his mistake. He brought us back. But...oh Gods..." Hermes started to laughed so hard. Like laughing gas. "Oh shit...*laugh* Oh Gods...Hehhe! HAHAHA! HE MANAGED TO BROUGHT THE WHOLE JAPAN HERE! And one of the Japanese yelled like 'Kōgeki! Amerikahito wa watashitachidesu! Ikutsu ka no amerikahito no yasei no yasei no shimin no atama o kiru!' Translation: 'Attack! Americans will be ours! Cut the head of some Americans bastards citizens!' And that's how WW2 actually starts! Isn't funny?!" Hermes laughed.

Everyone expect for Hades and Zeus laughed. Hades don't like wars because he have to do more pile of shit papers work.

"SHIT! THAT IS TOO MUCH!" Thalia laughed. "I can't even stop!"

After half an hour of laughter, they started reading again.

 **From the top of the clouds rose the decapitated peak of a mountain, its summit covered with snow. Clinging to the mountainside were dozens of multileveled palaces—a city of mansions—all with white-columned porticos, gilded terraces, and bronze braziers glowing with a thousand fires. Roads wound crazily up to the peak, where the largest palace gleamed against the snow. Precariously perched gardens bloomed with olive trees and rose bushes. I could make out an open-air market filled with colorful tents, a stone amphitheater built on one side of the mountain, a hippodrome and a coliseum on the other. It was an Ancient Greek city, except it wasn't in ruins. It was new, and clean, and colorful, the way Athens must've looked twenty-five hundred years ago.**

All child of Athena awed at architecture.

 **This place can't be here, I told myself. The tip of a mountain hanging over New York City like a billion-ton asteroid?**

"I haven't even thought about that!" Hermes gaped. "Yet I haven't realized it."

 _Because you are a dumbass_ , Athena thought sarcastically.

 **How could something like that be anchored above the Empire State Building, in plain sight of millions of people, and not get noticed?**

"You gotta love the mist." Hermes said dryly.

 **But here it was. And here I was.**

 **My trip through Olympus was a daze.**

For the those who never come here before they all thought ' _lucky bastard_ '.

But obviously Zeus ruined the moment.

"THIS ISN'T ABOUT SIGHTSEEING YOU BASTARD! I NEED MY BOLT!" Zeus growled angrily.

"Brother...DON'T YOU EVER EVER CALL MY SON A BASTARD! OR I'LL CURSED YOUR CHILD!" Poseidon warned.

That sent a Thalia and Jason chill that sent down their spine.

 **I passed some giggling wood nymphs who threw olives at me from their garden. Hawkers in the market offered to sell me ambrosia-on-a-stick, and a new shield, and a genuine glitter-weave replica of the Golden Fleece, as seen on Hephaestus-TV The nine muses were tuning their instruments for a concert in the park while a small crowd gathered—satyrs and naiads and a bunch of good-looking teenagers who might've been minor gods and goddesses. Nobody seemed worried about an impending civil war. In fact, everybody seemed in a festive mood. Several of them turned to watch me pass, and whispered to themselves.**

 **I climbed the main road, toward the big palace at the peak. It was a reverse copy of the palace in the Underworld.**

 **There, everything had been black and bronze. Here, everything glittered white and silver.**

 **I realized Hades must've built his palace to resemble this one. He wasn't welcomed in Olympus except on the winter solstice, so he'd built his own Olympus underground. Despite my bad experience with him, I felt a little sorry for the guy.**

"HOW THE FUCK A PUNY HERO FELT MY PAIN?!" Hades shouted. "HE IS A TRUE HERO!"

The Olympians look a little bit guilty.

 **To be banished from this place seemed really unfair. It would make anybody bitter.**

"THAT FUCKING RIGHT! THIS KID CAN HELP ME TO REMOVE THAT FUCKING PAIN!"

 **Steps led up to a central courtyard. Past that, the throne loom.**

 **Room really isn't the right word. The place made Grand Central Station look like a broom closet. Massive columns rose to a domed ceiling, which was gilded with moving constellations.**

 **Twelve thrones, built for beings the size of Hades, were arranged in an inverted U, just like the cabins at Camp Half-Blood. An enormous fire crackled in the central hearth pit.**

Hestia and so others smiled warmly.

 **The thrones were empty except for two at the end: the head throne on the right, and the one to its immediate left. I didn't have to be told who the two gods were that were sitting there, waiting for me to approach. I came toward them, my legs trembling.**

 **The gods were in giant human form, as Hades had been, but I could barely look at them without feeling a tingle, as if my body were starting to burn. Zeus, the Lord of the Gods, wore a dark blue pinstriped suit. He sat on a simple throne of solid platinum. He had a well-trimmed beard, marbled gray and black like a storm cloud. His face was proud and handsome and grim, his eyes rainy gray.**

 **As I got nearer to him, the air crackled and smelled of ozone.**

 **The god sitting next to him was his brother, without a doubt, but he was dressed very differently. He reminded me of a beachcomber from Key West. He wore leather sandals, khaki Bermuda shorts, and a Tommy Bahama shirt with coconuts and parrots all over it. His skin was deeply tanned, his hands scarred like an old-time fisherman's. His hair was black, like mine. His face had that same brooding look that had always gotten me branded a rebel. But his eyes, seagreen like mine, were surrounded by sun-crinkles that told me he smiled a lot, too.**

 **His throne was a deep-sea fisherman's chair. It was the simple swiveling kind, with a black leather seat and a built-in holster for a fishing pole. Instead of a pole, the holster held a bronze trident, flickering with green light around the tips.**

 **The gods weren't moving or speaking, but there was tension in the air, as if they'd just finished an argument.**

"Oh..Not good..." Demeter said nervously.

 **I approached the fisherman's throne and knelt at his feet. "Father." I dared not look up. My heart was racing. I could feel the energy emanating from the two gods. If I said the wrong thing, I had no doubt they could blast me into dust.**

"Oh we won't...Isn't that right...Brother?" Poseidon smiled kindly.

"O-o-o-h yes.." Zeus said nervously.

 **To my left, Zeus spoke. "Should you not address the master of this house first, boy?"**

 **I kept my head down, and waited.**

 **"Peace, brother," Poseidon finally said. His voice stirred my oldest memories: that warm glow I remembered as a baby, the sensation of this god's hand on my forehead, "The boy defers to his father. This is only right."**

 **"You still claim him then?" Zeus asked, menacingly. "You claim this child whom you sired against our sacred oath?"**

"Well." Poseidon said. "You broke twice."

That made Hera slapped Zeus hard.

 _Poseidon..You bastard.._ Zeus thought grimly as Hera slapped him hard.

 **"I have admitted my wrongdoing," Poseidon said. "Now I would hear him speak."**

"WHAT THE FUCK BROTHER?!" Hestia cried.

"YOU SHOULD BE A SHAME OF YOURSELF YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" Hermes shouted.

"WHY THE FUCK?!" Demeter yelled. "HE IS YOUR SON, NOT A MOTHERFUCKING WRONGDOING! YOU IDIOTIC FOOL!"

"YOU LITTLE MOTHERFUCKER!" Thalia shouted in rage, she never knew this happened. "I WANTED TO KICK YOUR BALLS AND SMASHED IT HARD! IT WILL BE THE LAST THING YOU EVER WANTED TO ME TO DO...YOU FUCKER!"

"BULLSHIT POSEIDON! I KNOW YOUR BETTER THEN THIS!" Athena yelled.

Mostly everyone cussed at Poseidon expect for Zeus and Annabeth.

"Hey Poseidon..Can you come down here for a sec?" Annabeth kindly asked.

Everyone suddenly got a bad feeling about this.

Poseidon shrink down to the human size and walk to Annabeth.

"Okay Poseidon...I want you to hold still..Alright?"

Poseidon is getting a little nervous.

"Y-yes."

One second later, Annabeth biffed Poseidon in the face and there is golden ichor blood running down from his nose.

Poseidon groaned and then wiped his golden ichor blood from his nose and look at it.

He chuckled dryly.

"I guess I deserved that."

"Damn right. If you ever saying that again...I swear to Chaos I will find a way to kill you and cut off your _dick_."

The air went cold and the sky went a little darker.

Poseidon sighed.

"Yep...I totally going to lose my _shit_." Poseidon muttered.

Poseidon went form human sized to a giant sized and go back to his throne.

 **Wrongdoing.**

Poseidon look down in a shame. He knew he shouldn't call his son. After all he haven't has a son like since WW2.

 **A lump welled up in my throat. Was that all I was? A wrongdoing? The result of a god's mistake?**

"Oh fuck no!" Thalia shouted angrily. "Your daddy is just being an fuckard that all."

 **"I have spared him once already," Zeus grumbled. "Daring to fly through my domain ... pah! I should have blasted him out of the sky for his impudence."**

"For risking to destroy your stupid master bolt?"

"Shut up! You rotten bastard!"

"Ya ya kept cussing me, that won't hurt me."

"... _Dick_.."

 **"And risk destroying your own master bolt?" Poseidon asked calmly. "Let us hear him out, brother."**

 **Zeus grumbled some more. "I shall listen," he decided.**

"HOLY FUCK! ZEUS IS ACTUALLY LISTENING!" Poseidon mocked. "THE WORLD MUST'VE BEEN ENDING! EVERYONE, GATHER UP YOUR GUNS AND SHOOT THE WORLD FUCKERS!"

"BROTHER! YOU—"

Suddenly there gunfires.

"...What the hell?" Demeter said in shock.

Everyone stared at Connor and Travis who both carried the machine guns.

Connor and Travis immediately dropped their beloved machine guns.

"HE DID IT!" Travis pointed at Connor and accused him innocently.

"WHAT?! OH FUCK NO! TRAVIS DID IT HONEST!" Connor accused.

"Whatever..You boys are so grounded when we go to camp." Annabeth said sternly.

"Aw, _shit_." The twins groaned.

" **Then I shall make up my mind whether or not to cast this boy down from Olympus."**

 **"Perseus," Poseidon said. "Look at me."**

 **I did, and I wasn't sure what I saw in his face. There was no clear sign of love or approval. Nothing to encourage me. It was like looking at the ocean: some days, you could tell what mood it was in. Most days, though, it was unreadable, mysterious.**

 **I got the feeling Poseidon really didn't know what to think of me. He didn't know whether he was happy to have me as a son or not. In a strange way, I was glad that Poseidon was so distant. If he'd tried to apologize, or told me he loved me, or even smiled, it would've felt fake.**

Once again Poseidon look down in a shame.

 **Like a human dad, making some lame excuse for not being around. I could live with that. After all, I wasn't sure about him yet, either.**

 **"Address Lord Zeus, boy," Poseidon told me. "Tell him your story."**

 **So I told Zeus everything, just as it had happened. I took out the metal cylinder, which began sparking in the Sky God's presence, and laid it at his feet.**

 **There was a long silence, broken only by the crackle of the hearth fire.**

 **Zeus opened his palm. The lightning bolt flew into it. As he closed his fist, the metallic points flared with electricity, until he was holding what looked more like the classic thunderbolt, a twenty-foot javelin of arcing, hissing energy that made the hairs on my scalp rise.**

 **"I sense the boy tells the truth," Zeus muttered. "But that Ares would do such a thing... it is most unlike him."**

"Very.." Zeus muttered sarcastically. "Thanks a lot, Dad!"

 **"He is proud and impulsive," Poseidon said. "It runs in the family."**

 **"Lord?" I asked.**

 **They both said, "Yes?"**

 **"Ares didn't act alone. Someone else—something else— came up with the idea."**

 **I described my dreams, and the feeling I'd had on the beach, that momentary breath of evil that had seemed to stop the world, and made Ares back off from killing me.**

 **"In the dreams," I said, "the voice told me to bring the bolt to the Underworld. Ares hinted that he'd been having dreams, too. I think he was being used, just as I was, to start a war."**

 **"You are accusing Hades, after all?" Zeus asked.**

"WHY THE FUCK!?" Hades cried angrily. "YOU ARE SUCH A MOTHERFUCKING A _DICK_!"

"YOU—"

"YOU SHOULD BE A DAMN A SHAME FOR YOUR FUCKING ACTION, ZEUS! ONCE YOU MAKE MORE GREEDY MOVE, MORE ENEMIES YOU CREATES!" Hades warned.

 **"No," I said. "I mean, Lord Zeus, I've been in the presence of Hades. This feeling on the beach was different. It was the same thing I felt when I got close to that pit. That was the entrance to Tartarus, wasn't it? Something powerful and evil is stirring down there ... something even older than the gods."**

 **Poseidon and Zeus looked at each other. They had a quick, intense discussion in Ancient Greek. I only caught one word. _Father_.**

Everyone groaned.

 **Poseidon made some kind of suggestion, but Zeus cut him off. Poseidon tried to argue. Zeus held up his hand angrily. "We will speak of this no more," Zeus said. "I must go personally to purify this thunderbolt in the waters of Lemnos, to remove the human taint from its metal."**

 **He rose and looked at me. His expression softened just a fraction of a degree. "You have done me a service, boy. Few heroes could have accomplished as much."**

 **"I had help, sir," I said. "Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase—"**

 **"To show you my thanks, I shall spare your life. I do not trust you, Perseus Jackson. I do not like what your arrival means for the future of Olympus.**

Annabeth narrowed her eyes.

"Oh really? He literally saved your Olympus for your shitty dad."

 **But for the sake of peace in the family, I shall let you live."**

 **"Um ... thank you, sir."**

 **"Do not presume to fly again. Do not let me find you here when I return. Otherwise you shall taste this bolt.**

"Oh you better not. Or you will feel my wrath!" Poseidon said angrily.

 **And it shall be your last sensation."**

 **Thunder shook the palace. With a blinding flash of lightning, Zeus was gone.**

 **I was alone in the throne room with my father. "Your uncle," Poseidon sighed, "has always had a flair for dramatic exits. I think he would've done well as the god of theater."**

Zeus pouted.

"Not true!"

"Oh yes it is, brother." Poseidon grinned. "I'll take a vote that everyone agreed that Zeus would've done well as a god of theater."

"WHAT NO!" Zeus protected.

Too late, everyone raised their hand up, even Hera agreed.

Zeus look at his own wife in a betrayed.

"How could you?!"

"Oh zip your _dick_ , Zeus." Hera smirked cruelly. "You know it's true, Zeus. So shut it. You know your are so _fucked_ up."

Zeus gulped as he knew that he's _fucked_ up, there's no excuses. Oh _fuck_ you Fates.

 **An uncomfortable silence.**

 **"Sir," I said, "what was in that pit?"**

 **Poseidon regarded me. "Have you not guessed?"**

 **"Kronos," I said. "The king of the Titans."**

"Yup, that _motherfucker_ whom tried to eats us." Demeter muttered.

 **Even in the throne room of Olympus, far away from Tartarus, the name Kronos darkened the room, made the hearth fire seem not quite so warm on my back.**

 **Poseidon gripped his trident. "In the First War, Percy, Zeus cut our father Kronos into a thousand pieces, just as Kronos had done to his own father, Ouranos. Zeus cast Kronos's remains into the darkest pit of Tartarus. The Titan army was scattered, their mountain fortress on Etna destroyed, their monstrous allies driven to the farthest corners of the earth. And yet Titans cannot die, any more than we gods can. Whatever is left of Kronos is still alive in some hideous way, still conscious in his eternal pain, still hungering for power."**

Everyone shivered.

 **"He's healing," I said. "He's coming back."**

"Fuck...I really hates to admit it, but I agreed with you Jackson." Zeus admitted.

 **Poseidon shook his head. "From time to time, over the eons, Kronos has stirred. He enters men's nightmares and breathes evil thoughts. He wakens restless monsters from the depths. But to suggest he could rise from the pit is another thing."**

 **"That's what he intends, Father. That's what he said."**

 **Poseidon was silent for a long time.**

 **"Lord Zeus has closed discussion on this matter. He will not allow talk of Kronos. You have completed your quest, child. That is all you need to do."**

 **"But—" I stopped myself. Arguing would do no good. It would very possibly anger the only god who I had on my side. "As ... as you wish, Father."**

 **A faint smile played on his lips. "Obedience does not come naturally to you, does it?"**

"Nope." Poseidon said sheepishly. "He takes from me."

Hades nodded seriously.

"No kidding brother."

 **"No ... sir."**

 **"I must take some blame for that, I suppose. The sea does not like to be restrained."**

Poseidon shuddered violently, like he is got his one of his worst nightmares.

"No kidding..." Poseidon muttered fearfully.

 **He rose to his full height and took up his trident. Then he shimmered and became the size of a regular man, standing directly in front of me. "You must go, child. But first, know that your mother has returned."**

"OH FUCK YEAH! SALLY IS BACK!" Poseidon cheered.

 **I stared at him, completely stunned. "My mother?"**

 **"You will find her at home. Hades sent her when you recovered his helm. Even the Lord of Death pays his debts."**

"Oh finally after many millennia. You pay your debts."

"Oh shut the fuck up, Poseidon."

Poseidon snickered.

 **My heart was pounding. I couldn't believe it. "Do you ... would you ..."**

 **I wanted to ask if Poseidon would come with me to see her, but then I realized that was ridiculous. I imagined loading the God of the Sea into a taxi and taking him to the Upper East Side.**

Olympians snickered expect for Poseidon obviously pouted.

"Oh shut up.."

 **If he'd wanted to see my mom all these years, he would have. And there was Smelly Gabe to think about.**

"That fucker!" Poseidon said angrily.

 **Poseidon's eyes took on a little sadness. "When you return home, Percy, you must make an important choice. You will find a package waiting in your room."**

 **"A package?"**

 **"You will understand when you see it. No one can choose your path, Percy. You must decide."**

 **I nodded, though I didn't know what he meant.**

 **"Your mother is a queen among women," Poseidon said wistfully.**

Athena look jealous.

 **"I had not met such a mortal woman in a thousand years.**

Athena look like she is going to die from jealousy.

 **Still ... I am sorry you were born, child. I have brought you a hero's fate, and a hero's fate is never happy.**

Poseidon sighed.

"No comment about that."

 **It is never anything but tragic."**

 **I tried not to feel hurt. Here was my own dad, telling me he was sorry I'd been born. "I don't mind, Father."**

 **"Not yet, perhaps," he said. "Not yet. But it was an unforgivable mistake on my part."**

 **"I'll leave you then." I bowed awkwardly. "I—I won't bother you again."**

 **I was five steps away when he called, "Perseus."**

 **I turned.**

 **There was a different light in his eyes, a fiery kind of pride. "You did well, Perseus. Do not misunderstand me. Whatever else you do, know that you are mine. You are a true son of the Sea God."**

"Oh yes you are." Poseidon said seriously.

 **As I walked back through the city of the gods, conversations stopped. The muses paused their concert. People and satyrs and naiads all turned toward me, their faces filled with respect and gratitude, and as I passed, they knelt, as if I were some kind of hero.**

 **Fifteen minutes later, still in a trance, I was back on the streets of Manhattan.**

 **I caught a taxi to my mom's apartment, rang the doorbell, and there she was—my beautiful mother, smelling of peppermint and licorice, the weariness and worry evaporating from her face as soon as she saw me.**

 **"Percy! Oh, thank goodness. Oh, my baby."**

 **She crushed the air right out of me. We stood in the hallway as she cried and ran her hands through my hair.**

 **I'll admit it—my eyes were a little misty, too. I was shaking, I was so relieved to see her.**

 **She told me she'd just appeared at the apartment that morning, scaring Gabe half out of his wits. She didn't remember anything since the Minotaur, and couldn't believe it when Gabe told her I was a wanted criminal—**

Everyone look like they are going to kill him.

 **— traveling across the country, blowing up national monuments.**

 **She'd been going out of her mind with worry all day because she hadn't heard the news. Gabe had forced her to go into work, saying she had a month's salary to make up and she'd better get started.**

"I really want to hunt that man.." Artemis muttered angrily.

 **I swallowed back my anger and told her my own story. I tried to make it sound less scary than it had been, but that wasn't easy. I was just getting to the fight with Ares when Gabe's voice interrupted from the living room. "Hey, Sally! That meat loaf done yet or what?"**

"BASTARD! SHE JUST GOT BACK FROM THE DEAD!" Artemis roared angrily.

 **She closed her eyes. "He isn't going to be happy to see you, Percy. The store got half a million phone calls today from Los Angeles ... something about free appliances."**

 **"Oh, yeah. About that..."**

 **She managed a weak smile. "Just don't make him angrier, all right? Come on."**

 **In the month I'd been gone, the apartment had turned into Gabeland. Garbage was ankle deep on the carpet. The sofa had been reupholstered in beer cans. Dirty socks and underwear hung off the lampshades.**

Aphrodite look like she is going to be sick.

 **Gabe and three of his big goony friends were playing poker at the table.**

 **When Gabe saw me, his cigar dropped out of his mouth. His face got redder than lava. "You got nerve coming here, you little punk. I thought the police—"**

 **"He's not a fugitive after all," my mom interjected. "Isn't that wonderful, Gabe?"**

 **Gabe looked back and forth between us. He didn't seem to think my homecoming was so wonderful.**

 **"Bad enough I had to give back your life insurance money, Sally," he growled. "Get me the phone. I'll call the cops."**

"FUCK NO!" Thalia shouted.

 **"Gabe, no!"**

 **He raised his eyebrows. "Did you just say 'no'? You think I'm gonna put up with this punk again? I can still press charges against him for ruining my Camaro."**

 **"But—"**

 **He raised his hand, and my mother flinched.**

Poseidon went very exasperate and flashed out go murder Gabe in his sleep.

"Oh! Err...I think he don't be back for a while.." Zeus guessed.

 **For the first time, I realized something. Gabe had hit my mother.**

At this point Artemis and Hestia even Hera flashed out.

"Oh man...I have a very bad feeling about this.." Zeus muttered.

 **I didn't know when, or how much. But I was sure he'd done it. Maybe it had been going on for years, when I wasn't around.**

"That bastard..." Aphrodite growled.

 **A balloon of anger started expanding in my chest. I came toward Gabe, instinctively taking my pen out of my pocket.**

"Oh, I wish that pen could kill him.." Leo said.

 **He just laughed. "What, punk? You gonna write on me? You touch me, and you are going to jail forever, you understand?"**

 **"Hey, Gabe," his friend Eddie interrupted. "He's just a kid."**

 **Gabe looked at him resentfully and mimicked in a falsetto voice: "Just a kid."**

 **His other friends laughed like idiots.**

 **"I'll be nice to you, punk." Gabe showed me his tobacco-stained teeth. "I'll give you five minutes to get your stuff and clear out. After that, I call the police."**

 **"Gabe!" my mother pleaded.**

 **"He ran away," Gabe told her. "Let him stay gone."**

 **I was itching to uncap Riptide, but even if I did, the blade wouldn't hurt humans. And Gabe, by the loosest definition, was human.**

 **My mother took my arm. "Please, Percy. Come on. We'll go to your room."**

 **I let her pull me away, my hands still trembling with rage.**

 **My room had been completely filled with Gabe's junk.**

Everyone growled.

 **I here were stacks of used car batteries, a rotting bouquet of sympathy flowers with a card from somebody who'd seen his Barbara Walters interview.**

 **"Gabe is just upset, honey," my mother told me. "I'll talk to him later. I'm sure it will work out."**

 **"Mom, it'll never work out. Not as long as Gabe's here."**

 **She wrung her hands nervously. "I can ... I'll take you to work with me for the rest of the summer. In the fall, maybe there's another boarding school—"**

 **"Mom."**

 **She lowered her eyes. "I'm trying, Percy. I just... I need some time."**

 **A package appeared on my bed. At least, I could've sworn it hadn't been there a moment before.**

 **It was a battered cardboard box about the right size to fit a basketball. The address on the mailing slip was in my own handwriting:**

 **The Gods**

 **Mount Olympus**

 **600th Floor,**

 **Empire State Building**

 **New York, NY**

 **With best wishes,**

 **PERCY JACKSON**

"Ooh! I get it!" Athena realized and then smirked.

 **Over the top in black marker, in a man's clear, bold print, was the address of our apartment, and the words: RETURN TO SENDER.**

 **Suddenly I understood what Poseidon had told me on Olympus.**

 **A package. A decision.**

 **Whatever else you do, know that you are mine. You are a true son of the Sea God.**

 **I looked at my mother. "Mom, do you want Gabe gone?**

 **"Percy, it isn't that simple. I—"**

 **"Mom, just tell me. That jerk has been hitting you. Do you want him gone or not?"**

 **She hesitated, then nodded almost imperceptibly. "Yes, Percy. I do.**

"THEN DO IT LADY!" Everyone shouted.

 **And I'm trying to get up my courage to tell him. But you can't do this for me. You can't solve my problems."**

 **I looked at the box.**

 **I could solve her problem. I wanted to slice that package open, plop it on the poker table, and take out what was inside. I could start my very own statue garden, right there in the living room.**

 **That's what a Greek hero would do in the stories, I thought. That's what Gabe deserves.**

"Maybe. But he deserves more than that..." Hades said.

 **But a hero's story always ended in tragedy. Poseidon had told me that.**

 **I remembered the Underworld. I thought about Gabe's spirit drifting forever in the Fields of Asphodel, or condemned to some hideous torture behind the barbed wire of the Fields of Punishment—an eternal poker game, sitting up to his waist in boiling oil listening to opera music. Did I have the right to send someone there? Even Gabe?**

"Oh yes..." Hades grinned cruelly.

 **A month ago, I wouldn't have hesitated. Now ...**

 **"I can do it," I told my mom. "One look inside this box, and he'll never bother you again."**

 **She glanced at the package, and seemed to understand immediately. "No, Percy," she said, stepping away. "You can't."**

"Why?" Hermes asked.

 **"Poseidon called you a queen," I told her. "He said he hadn't met a woman like you in a thousand years."**

 **Her cheeks flushed. "Percy—"**

 **"You deserve better than this, Mom. You should go to college, get your degree. You can write your novel, meet a nice guy maybe, live in a nice house. You don't need to protect me anymore by staying with Gabe. Let me get rid of him."**

 **She wiped a tear off her cheek. "You sound so much like your father," she said. "He offered to stop the tide for me once. He offered to build me a palace at the bottom of the sea. He thought he could solve all my problems with a wave of his hand."**

 **"What's wrong with that?"**

 **Her multicolored eyes seemed to search inside me. "I think you know, Percy. I think you're enough like me to understand. If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself. I can't let a god take care of me ... or my son. I have to ... find the courage on my own. Your quest has reminded me of that."**

"Ooh." Hermes realized.

 **We listened to the sound of poker chips and swearing, ESPN from the living room television.**

 **"I'll leave the box," I said. "If he threatens you ..."**

"Then I'll curse him." Hades said.

Everyone stunned in Shocked that Hades is now overprotective him now.

"What? Your staring at me like I've done something stupid."

"Nothing.." Leo said.

 **She looked pale, but she nodded. "Where will you go, Percy?"**

 **"Half-Blood Hill."**

 **"For the summer ... or forever?"**

 **"I guess that depends."**

 **We locked eyes, and I sensed that we had an agreement. We would see how things stood at the end of the summer.**

 **She kissed my forehead. "You'll be a hero, Percy. You'll be the greatest of all."**

"Oh yes are you dude!" Leo said. "Your a legend!"

 **I took one last look around my bedroom. I had a feeling I'd never see it again. Then I walked with my mother to the front door.**

 **"Leaving so soon, punk?" Gabe called after me. "Good riddance."**

 **I had one last twinge of doubt. How could I turn down the perfect chance to take revenge on him? I was leaving here without saving my mother.**

 **"Hey, Sally," he yelled. "What about that meat loaf, huh?"**

Everyone gritted their teeth.

 **A steely look of anger flared in my mother's eyes, and I thought, just maybe, I was leaving her in good hands after all. Her own.**

 **"The meat loaf is coming right up, dear," she told Gabe. "Meat loaf surprise."**

 **She looked at me, and winked.**

 **The last thing I saw as the door swung closed was my mother staring at Gabe, as if she were contemplating how he would look as a garden statue.**

"Who want to read next?" Zeus asked.

"Me." Hermes said.

Hades handed over the book to God of the thief.

" **The Prophecy Comes True**." Hermes read out loud.


	25. The Prophecy Comes True

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

Godess Bubbles: Thanks you! There is only one more chapters, it's a bonus chapter! :)

Guest: If you don't like this. Please leave. I don't like any flames comments as a fuck.

Death Fury: Thanks!

HELLO EVERYONE! PLEASE READ MY NOTES AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER PLEASE! :) THANKS YOU!

* * *

Everyone suddenly got nervous when they heard the final chapter's title.

"Luke." Annabeth muttered sadly.

 **We were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke—**

For the those who went the quest with Luke winced.

— **so of course everybody treated us as if we'd won some reality-TV contest. According to camp tradition, we wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in our honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where we got to burn the burial shrouds our cabins had made for us in our absence.**

 **Annabeth's shroud was so beautiful—gray silk with embroidered owls—I told her it seemed a shame not to bury her in it.**

The goddess of love giggled.

 **She punched me and told me to shut up.**

Suddenly Hades sensed the end is coming. Hades immediately covered his ears.

"EVERYONE COVERED YOUR EARS!" Hades shouted.

Everyone quickly covered their ears.

"AAAAAAAAH!" Aphrodite fan girl screamed and suddenly the tears that rolled from her eyes were blood. "THIS IS TOO MUCH! KYAAAAA!"

Some of the birds falls down from the sky due to Aphrodite's high pitch scream.

 **Being the son of Poseidon, I didn't have any cabin mates, so the Ares cabin had volunteered to make my shroud. They'd taken an old bedsheet and painted smiley faces with X'ed-out eyes around the border, and the word LOSER painted really big in the middle.**

Zeus coughed nervously.

"Good thing, Poseidon isn't here.."

Ares cabins look dumbfound until they realized what Zeus meant.

"Oh shit, good thing that Lord Poseidon isn't here.." One of Ares cabin said.

 **It was fun to burn.**

"Wait a sec..This line sound familiar.." Leo paused for a second and then snapped his finger with idea-expression. "THIS IS FROM DARK KNIGHT?! THAT MOTHERFUCKER JOKER!?"

Piper gaged.

"The shit is about to get fuckin' real.."

 **As Apollo's cabin led the sing-along and passed** **out s'mores, I was surrounded by my old Hermes cabinmates, Annabeth's friends from Athena, and Grover's satyr buddies, who were admiring the brand-new searcher's license he'd received from the Council of Cloven Elders.**

"YES! YES!" Thalia cheered, even though she knew, but she just happy. "I BET THOSE BASTARDS CLOVEN ELDERS REGRET IT FOR GIVING GROVER A HARSH TIME, SINCE HE NOW A HEIR OF LORD OF THE WILD, BITCHES!"

Hermes nearly got a heart attack.

"M-my s-son?" Hermes asked.

Thalia realized her mistake.

"Oops."

"I demand to know what happened to son!" Hermes demanded angrily.

"W-well..Let say...You will just have to wait until that times comes. Remember, Grover is your key to find your son." Thalia said, don't want to spoil it.

Hermes sighed angrily, but decided to let it go. (Hm, this line sound awfully familiar..)

 **The council had called Grover's performance on the quest "Brave to the point of indigestion. Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past."**

Thalia snorted, when she heard this.

 **The only ones not in a party mood were Clarisse and her cabinmates, whose poisonous looks told me they'd never forgive me for disgracing their dad.**

"Erm..I think we regret that." Clarisse admitted nervously as Ares cabin nodded regretfully.

 **That was okay with me.**

Everyone expect for Annabeth who rolled her eyes gaped.

"Really?! Oh man, I can't wait for this." Clarisse muttered eagerly.

Annabeth facepalmed and then mutters about, _oh Seaweed Brain.._

 **Even Dionysus's welcome-home speech wasn't enough to dampen my spirits. "Yes, yes, so the little brat didn't get himself killed and now he'll have an even bigger head.**

"Seriously?" Thalia gaped. "What da fuck?!"

Dionysus-the-grapefruit 'glared' at Thalia.

 **Well, huzzah for that. In other announcements, there will be no canoe races this Saturday..."**

"I remembered this.." Annabeth said. "This got Seaweed Brain depressed for a week. Certainly he got some skills for being a son of Poseidon."

The twins snorted.

"That was hilarious." Connor snickered.

"No freakin kidding." Travis added with a snicker.

 **I moved back into cabin three, but it didn't feel so lonely anymore. I had my friends to train with during the day. At night, I lay awake and listened to the sea, knowing my father was out there. Maybe he wasn't quite sure about me yet, maybe he hadn't even wanted me born, but he was watching. And so far, he was proud of what I'd done.**

"He's very proud." Annabeth smiled.

 **As for my mother, she had a chance at a new life. Her letter arrived a week after I got back to camp. She told me Gabe had left mysteriously—disappeared off the face of the planet, in fact. She'd reported him missing to the police, but she had a funny feeling they would never find him.**

Everyone snorted.

"I like this woman." Hermes grinned.

 **On a completely unrelated subject, she'd sold her first life-size concrete sculpture, entitled The Poker Player, to a collector, through an art gallery in Soho. She'd gotten so much money for it, she'd put a deposit down on a new apartment and made a payment on her first semester's tuition at NYU. The Soho gallery was clamoring for more of her work, which they called "a huge step forward in super-ugly neorealism."**

Everyone laughed their ass off when they heard this.

"Oh Gods..I think I remember this." Annabeth chuckled with tears at the very corner of her eyes. "I went on a date with Seaweed Brain.."

* * *

-Flashback ten years ago, shortly after the Titan War, two days before Percy gone missing-

* * *

"Seaweed Brain..What are you taking me to?" Annabeth asked with a curiosity.

"Hmm, it's a secret Wise Girl." Percy said playfully.

Annabeth pouted.

"Tell me, please."

"No."

Annabeth huffed.

"You leave me no choice, but.." Annabeth sighed and then give a most adorable puppy eyes unlike you have ever seen. "Pretty please?"

Percy stared at her for a second and then he covered his eyes with a hand.

"I-I said n-no Wise Girl." He sputtered.

Annabeth pouted cutely with a absolutely adorable puppy eyes.

Percy started to groaned.

"Okay okay fine! I hate you.."

Annabeth grinned mischievously at Percy.

"You love me so much." Annabeth mocked playfully.

Percy grumbled and mutters about _damned you Athena for your smart ass genes_.

"Ya know your freakin' Athena genes, curiosity killed the freakin' poor cat." Percy muttered sarcastically. "No wonder that you are a daughter of Athena."

Annabeth rolled her eyes at her boyfriend sarcastic comment about her offspring.

"I'll admit that I'm very curious..("Ha!" Percy pointed at her) Since you didn't 'tell' me where are you going to you Seaweed Brain!"

Percy glared at her with a 'oh really?' look.

"I'm saying that it's a secret! Oh for Poseidon's sake." Percy said with a sudden irritated on his face. "You really don't get it, do ya..."

Annabeth glared at him, but said nothing.

Percy sighed.

"Knew it.." He said dryly and then he sighed again. "Did I ever told you about _Gabe_?" He spat the word 'Gabe' if it like a cursed word.

Annabeth paused for a second and then nodded with a frowned on her face.

"What if I tell you that he's abusing me for nine years, since I was three?"

Annabeth stunned in horror/shock. she look at him in horror/shock.

"It cannot be..!" Annabeth gaped.

Percy looked down ashamedly; excepting Annabeth pitying him, or worse.

Surprisedly Annabeth said something different.

"What. Did. He. Do." She asked murderously.

"Well..Um..He did sexual abuse, physical abuse, verbal abuse and uh I think that's it." Percy said quickly as Annabeth's aura is getting darker then usual.

"Tell me, where is this man and I'll hunt him to torture him into bits." She said murderously and a lot of dark aura spreads around her. "I will sent him to a motherfucker Titans to torture him to death!"

Percy sweat dropped.

"Well, uh, he's out of mine and my mom's life now." Percy said and tried to calm her down.

"I. Want. To. Kill. That. Little. Fucker." Annabeth said in very deadly murderous and her golden hair flying wildly around her and a very darkest deadly aura spread. (making the aura felt like if-you-dare-move-I'll-kill-you-bitch!)

Percy is sweating to death, right now and immediately regret what he said.

"W-wait W-Wise Girl, please calm your self down or you kill somebody!" Percy protected as he look at poor mortals sweating in fear.

Chibi-Annabeth roared with yellow starry stars eyes and chibi-Annabeth started to attacking the poor mortals with no reason. In the background chibi-Percy sweat dropped with squiggle eyes.

"Oh shit." Percy muttered with a squiggle eyes.

"I'LL FUCKIN' KILL YA FUCKIN' BASTARDS!" Annabeth screamed with a vein popped on her forehead.

"ANNABETH CHASE!" Percy screamed. "CALM DOWN OR I'LL FUCKIN CALL YOUR DICK FATHER!"

Everyone stared at Percy with squiggle eyes with a sweat dropped.

"..."

"..."

"Please don't tell me that you are calling him."

"I'm serious."

"...Please don't."

"If you calm down."

"Aye."

* * *

-line break-

* * *

Percy point at the stone statue that named, _a huge step forward in super-ugly neorealism._

"Jesus Christ!" Annabeth gaped and then started to giggles and then her giggles turned into laughter. "OH MY GODS, WHAT KINDA STATUE IS THAT?!"

"Shh! Wise Girl calm your voice down!" Percy hissed. "This isn't a play show, this is a 'quiet' art gallery!"

Annabeth frowned at first, until she got some eyes on her. She blushed furiously.

"Oops."

Percy rolled his eyes.

"I cannot believe it. Oh man I wish that I brought my camera."

"Don't you dare _Jackson_!" Annabeth hissed with some trace of blush on her cheek.

Percy winced when she said his last name, she only used it when she is super mad.

"Sorry, Wise Girl." Percy apologized.

Annabeth glared at Percy.

"I'll forgive you.." Annabeth saw Percy's face light up. "...If you something for me." As Percy heard this, his face fell.

"Do what?" Percy asked fearfully.

"If you come to camp tomorrow night to celebrate."

"...Okay this is better than I expected." Percy sighed with a relief. "I'll come over tomorrow night."

Annabeth grinned.

"Good."

* * *

-End of the flashback-

* * *

"...And that was our last date that I've had in ten years." Annabeth said sadly.

The atmosphere saddened when they heard this.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Aphrodite said in sympathy.

Before everyone else comment about it, a bright light appeared and then it shows Poseidon, Artemis, Hestia, and Hera.

Poseidon clothes were torn and some trance of fresh blood on his shirt and some of it was on his cheek. Artemis clothes weren't exactly torn, but there is a lot of fresh blood on Artemis' face and her hands that carrying Gabe's head, Gabe's face look like he saw a deer that been caught in headlight. Hestia clothes is quite different from others, there is no trace of fresh blood anywhere. But Hestia's face shows something like she got something she wanted so long (which it's not always good), finally at last, Hera's expression show proud and satisfied. Her clothes were torn with some fresh scratch around her body like someone tried to injury her.

Poseidon grinned like a madman.

"We got our revenge." Poseidon said cheerfully.

Everyone expect for the those who went Gabe-hunting-day stared at Poseidon in horror.

"You fool! You realized what have you done?!" Athena shrieked.

Poseidon frowned like an idiot.

"What I've done?"

Athena facepalmed.

"Gabe may be an abusive man, but Sally married him to cover Percy due to his stinky smell, so monsters won't hunt him beforehand he reach to Camp Half Blood."

Poseidon realized, then groaned.

"Maybe..The Fates have another one?" Poseidon muttered.

Almost everyone facepalmed.

Poseidon just shrugged.

"So, what did I missed?"

"Well, Percy's mom turned Gabe into stone due to Medusa's head." Hermes said.

Poseidon grinned.

"Awesome."

After Hermes told all what happened so far, maybe expect for Ares children did something stupid.

Four Olympians changes their clothes and went back to their throne.

 **But don't worry, my mom wrote. I'm done with sculpture. I've disposed of that box of tools you left me. It's time for me to turn to writing.**

 **At the bottom, she wrote a P.S.: Percy, I've found a good private school here in the city. I've put a deposit down to hold you a spot, in case you want to enroll for seventh grade. You could live at home. But if you want to go year-round at Half-Blood Hill, I'll understand.**

 **I folded the note carefully and set it on my bedside table. Every night before I went to sleep, I read it again, and I tried to decide how to answer her.**

"That sound pretty tough decision to make." Hermes said.

 **On the Fourth of July, the whole camp gathered at the beach for a fireworks display by cabin nine. Being Hephaestus's kids, they weren't going to settle for a few lame red-white-and-blue explosions. They'd anchored a barge offshore and loaded it with rockets the size of Patriot missiles. According to Annabeth, who'd seen the show before, the blasts would be sequenced so tightly they'd look like frames of animation across the sky. The finale was supposed to be a couple of hundred-foot-tall Spartan warriors who would crackle to life above the ocean, fight a battle, then explode into a million colors.**

Hephaestus grinned.

"Sound pretty gorgeous."

Hephaestus's children beamed as their father praised them.

 **As Annabeth and I were spreading a picnic blanket, Grover showed up to tell us good-bye. He was dressed in his usual jeans and T-shirt and sneakers, but in the last few weeks he'd started to look older, almost high-school age. His goatee had gotten thicker. He'd put on weight. His horns had grown at least an inch, so he now had to wear his rasta cap all the time to pass as human.**

 **"I'm off," he said. "I just came to say ... well, you know."**

 **I tried to feel happy for him. After all, it wasn't every day a satyr got permission to go look for the great god Pan. But it was hard saying good-bye. I'd only known Grover a year, yet he was my oldest friend.**

"Aww.." All Olympians goddess cooed.

 **Annabeth gave him a hug. She told him to keep his fake feet on.**

 **I asked him where he was going to search first.**

 **"Kind of a secret," he said, looking embarrassed. "I wish you could come with me, guys, but humans and Pan ..."**

 **"We understand," Annabeth said. "You got enough tin cans for the trip?"**

 **"Yeah."**

 **"And you remembered your reed pipes?"**

 **"Jeez, Annabeth," he grumbled. "You're like an old mama goat."**

Everyone laughed at Grover's comment.

 **But he didn't really sound annoyed.**

 **He gripped his walking stick and slung a backpack over his shoulder. He looked like any hitchhiker you might see on an American highway—nothing like the little runty boy I used to defend from bullies at Yancy Academy.**

"This is too sweet." Hestia squealed.

 **"Well," he said, "wish me luck."**

Olympians nodded seriously.

"We wish you a luck, Grover."

 **He gave Annabeth another hug. He clapped me on the shoulder, then headed back through the dunes.**

 **Fireworks exploded to life overhead: Hercules killing the Nemean lion, Artemis chasing the boar, George Washington (who, by the way, was a son of Athena) crossing the Delaware.**

"HOW THE ACTUAL FUCK THAT OUR FIRST PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS SON OF A FREAKIN ATHENA?!" Leo exclaimed loudly. "Holy mother of the Gods..Son of Athena lead our country..My world is ending.." Leo muttered looking very depressed; clearly isn't taking the news so well.

" **Hey, Grover,** " **I called.**

 **He turned at the edge of the woods.**

 **"Wherever you're going—I hope they make good enchiladas."**

Everyone chuckled.

 **Grover grinned, and then he was gone, the trees closing around him.**

 **"We'll see him again," Annabeth said.**

 **I tried to believe it. The fact that no searcher had ever come back in two thousand years ... well, I decided not to think about that. Grover would be the first. He had to be.**

 **July passed.**

"...I'm starting to hate time skip. It just reminded me of someone that I once knew." Zeus shivered.

Everyone agreed.

 **I spent my days devising new strategies for capture-the-flag and making alliances with the other cabins to keep the banner out of Ares's hands. I got to the top of the climbing wall for the first time without getting scorched by lava.**

 **From time to time, I'd walk past the Big House, glance up at the attic windows, and think about the Oracle. I tried to convince myself that its prophecy had come to completion.**

 **You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.**

"Ares..That fuckard." Poseidon said angrily.

 **Been there, done that—even though the traitor god had turned out to be Ares rather than Hades.**

Hades grumbled.

 **You shall find what was stolen, and see it safe returned.**

 **Check. One master bolt delivered. One helm of darkness back on Hades's oily head.**

 **You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.**

Everyone felt uncomfortable when they heard this.

 **This line still bothered me. Ares had pretended to be my friend, then betrayed me. That must be what the Oracle meant...**

 **And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.**

 **I had failed to save my mom, but only because I'd let her save herself, and I knew that was the right thing.**

 **So why was I still uneasy?**

 _You should, you almost got your ass killed,_ Annabeth thought bitterly.

 **The last night of the summer session came all too quickly.**

Zeus groaned.

 **The campers had one last meal together. We burned part of our dinner for the gods. At the bonfire, the senior counselors awarded the end-of-summer beads.**

 **I got my own leather necklace, and when I saw the bead for my first summer, I was glad the firelight covered my blushing. The design was pitch black, with a sea-green trident shimmering in the center.**

Poseidon beamed proudly.

 **"The choice was unanimous," Luke announced. "This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!"**

Hades grumbled when he heard this.

 **The entire camp got to their feet and cheered. Even Ares's cabin felt obliged to stand. Athena's cabin steered Annabeth to the front so she could share in the applause.**

 **I'm not sure I'd ever felt as happy or sad as I did at that moment. I'd finally found a family, people who cared about me and thought I'd done something right.**

"Aw.." Olympians goddess cooed.

 **And in the morning, most of them would be leaving for the year.**

 **The next morning, I found a form letter on my bedside table.**

 **I knew Dionysus must've filled it out, because he stubbornly insisted on getting my name wrong:**

"Really?" Poseidon deadpanned.

Dionysus-the-grapefruit look nervous.

 **Dear_ Peter Johnson_ ,**

Poseidon glared at Dionysus-the-grapefruit.

 **If you intend to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, you must inform the Big House by noon today. If you do not announce your intentions, we will assume you have vacated your cabin or died a horrible death.**

"WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUCK DIONYSUS?!" Poseidon roared angrily; clearly looking to murder Dionysus twice.

 **Cleaning harpies will begin work at sundown. They will be authorized to eat any unregistered campers. All personal articles left behind will be incinerated in the lava pit.**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **Mr. D (Dionysus)**

 **Camp Director, Olympian Council #12**

 **That's another thing about ADHD. Deadlines just aren't real to me until I'm staring one in the face. Summer was over, and I still hadn't answered my mother, or the camp, about whether I'd be staying. Now I had only a few hours to decide.**

 **The decision should have been easy. I mean, nine months of hero training or nine months of sitting in a classroom—duh.**

"…I would prefer nine month of hero training, but I would not cleaning harpies. That sound a nightmare." Leo admitted seriously.

"Lazy bastard." Jason snorted.

"Shut up Superman."

"…I hate that nickname..." Jason pouted.

"Too bad so sad."

 **But there was my mom to consider. For the first time, I had the chance to live with her for a whole year, without Gabe.**

"Oh no you don't." Poseidon sassily spoke. "He is long dead."

"…Wait the second, you murdered Gabe when he is twenty one?" Aphrodite said and starting to feel sick.

"Yep! I figured that Gabe is fifty years old, and Sally is thirty something years old." Poseidon said happily at ( **A/N: Be honest I really don't know what Gabe or Sally age is. But I'm enjoying this Gabe ages. HA! OLD MAN! Get it?** )

Almost everyone facepalmed.

 **I had a chance be at home and knock around the city in my free time. I remembered what Annabeth had said so long ago on our quest: The real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not.**

 **I thought about the fate of Thalia, daughter of Zeus.**

"C'MON STOP MENTIONING THAT!" Thalia shouted.

Jason and Zeus look down.

 **I wondered how many monsters would attack me if I left Half-Blood Hill. If I stayed in one place for a whole school year, without Chiron or my friends around to help me, would my mother and I even survive until the next summer? That was assuming the spelling tests and five-paragraph essays didn't kill me.**

"It will!" Leo said seriously.

"Dude." Jason deadpanned. "It don't kill you."

"Shut up, I didn't ask you."

 **I decided I'd go down to the arena and do some sword practice. Maybe that would clear my head.**

 **The campgrounds were mostly deserted, shimmering in the August heat.**

Connor and Travis shivered.

"August is one of a worst month of summer." Travis said seriously.

 **All the campers were in their cabins packing up, or running around with brooms and mops, getting ready for final inspection. Argus was helping some of the Aphrodite kids haul their Gucci suitcases and makeup kits over the hill, where the camp's shuttle bus would be waiting to take them to the airport.**

 **Don't think about leaving yet, I told myself. Just train.**

 **I got to the sword-fighters arena and found that Luke had had the same idea. His gym bag was plopped at the edge of the stage. He was working solo, whaling on battle dummies with a sword I'd never seen before.**

For the those who fought in Titan War growled; seemed they don't like seeing that sword.

 **It must've been a regular steel blade, because he was slashing the dummies' heads right off, stabbing through their straw-stuffed guts. His orange counselor's shirt was dripping with sweat. His expression was so intense, his life might've really been in danger. I watched, fascinated, as he disemboweled the whole row of dummies, hacking off limbs and basically reducing them to a pile of straw and armor.**

 **They were only dummies, but I still couldn't help being awed by Luke's skill. The guy was an incredible fighter. It made me wonder, again, how he possibly could've failed at his quest.**

"Same." Hermes wondered.

 **Finally, he saw me, and stopped mid-swing. "Percy."**

 **"Um, sorry," I said, embarrassed. "I just—"**

 **"It's okay," he said, lowering his sword. "Just doing some last-minute practice."**

 **"Those dummies won't be bothering anybody anymore."**

 **Luke shrugged. "We build new ones every summer."**

"True." Hephaestus children shrugged.

 **Now that his sword wasn't swirling around, I could see something odd about it. The blade was two different types of metal—one edge bronze, the other steel.**

 **Luke noticed me looking at it. "Oh, this? New toy. This is Backbiter."**

The Olympians look uncomfortable.

"For some reason, I don't like the name." Hermes said nervously.

 **"Backbiter?"**

 **Luke turned the blade in the light so it glinted wickedly. "One side is celestial bronze. The other is tempered steel. Works on mortals and immortals both."**

Artemis raised her eyebrows.

"That weapon should be destroy." Artemis said dangerously.

 **I thought about what Chiron had told me when I started my quest—that a hero should never harm mortals unless absolutely necessary.**

 **"I didn't know they could make weapons like that."**

 **"They probably can't," Luke agreed. "It's one of a kind."**

"Something isn't right." Artemis said suspiciously.

 **He gave me a tiny smile, then slid the sword into its scabbard. "Listen, I was going to come looking for you. What do you say we go down to the woods one last time, look for something to fight?"**

"Oh no." Annabeth muttered quietly.

 **I don't know why I hesitated. I should've felt relieved that Luke was being so friendly. Ever since I'd gotten back from the quest, he'd been acting a little distant. I was afraid he might resent me for all the attention I'd gotten.**

 **"You think it's a good idea?" I asked. "I mean—"**

 **"Aw, come on." He rummaged in his gym bag and pulled out a six-pack of Cokes. "Drinks are on me."**

 **I stared at the Cokes, wondering where the heck he'd gotten them. There were no regular mortal sodas at the camp store. No way to smuggle them in unless you talked to a satyr, maybe.**

 **Of course, the magic dinner goblets would fill with anything you want, but it just didn't taste the same as a real Coke, straight out of the can.**

 **Sugar and caffeine. My willpower crumbled.**

"Hilarious." Hermes chuckled nervously; trying to cheer the mood up.

 **"Sure," I decided. "Why not?"**

 **We walked down to the woods and kicked around for some kind of monster to fight, but it was too hot. All the monsters with any sense must've been taking siestas in their nice cool caves.**

 **We found a shady spot by the creek where I'd broken Clarisse's spear during my first capture the flag game. We sat on a big rock, drank our Cokes, and watched the sunlight in the woods.**

 **After a while Luke said, "You miss being on a quest?"**

 **"With monsters attacking me every three feet? Are you kidding?"**

 **Luke raised an eyebrow.**

 **"Yeah, I miss it," I admitted. "You?"**

 **A shadow passed over his face.**

 **I was used to hearing from the girls how good-looking Luke was, but at the moment, he looked weary, and angry, and not at all handsome. His blond hair was gray in the sunlight. The scar on his face looked deeper than usual. I could imagine him as an old man.**

 **"I've lived at Half-Blood Hill year-round since I was fourteen," he told me. "Ever since Thalia ... well, you know. I trained, and trained, and trained. I never got to be a normal teenager, out there in the real world. Then they threw me one quest, and when I came back, it was like, 'Okay, ride's over. Have a nice life.'"**

"Harsh." Hermes whimpered. "Very harsh."

 **He crumpled his Coke can and threw into the creek, which really shocked me. One of the first things you learn at CampHalf-Blood is: Don't litter. You'll hear from the nymphs and the naiads. They'll get even. You'll crawl into bed one night and find your sheets filled with centipedes and mud.**

 **"The heck with laurel wreaths," Luke said. "I'm not going to end up like those dusty trophies in the Big House attic."**

 **"You make it sound like you're leaving."**

 **Luke gave me a twisted smile. "Oh, I'm leaving, all right, Percy. I brought you down here to say good-bye."**

 **He snapped his fingers. A small fire burned a hole in the ground at my feet. Out crawled something glistening black, about the size of my hand. A scorpion.**

"PIT SCORPIONS!?" Athena and Artemis shrieked.

 **I started to go for my pen.**

 **"I wouldn't," Luke cautioned. "Pit scorpions can jump up to fifteen feet. Its stinger can pierce right through your clothes. You'll be dead in sixty seconds."**

"No." Hermes paled. "No. No. No!"

Annabeth look at Hermes sadly.

 **"Luke, what—"**

 **Then it hit me.**

 **You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.**

"WHY!?" Hermes cried. "WHY?!"

Zeus fumed.

"He dares stole my beloved master bolt!" Zeus fumed. "He shall be destroyed!"

"YOU cannot!" Annabeth cried. "If you do, then your hero Percy Jackson won't have been existed! Kronos will win without Percy Jackson! Even for that fuckard Gaea! The world will be damned without him. We need followed the event that just happened."

Zeus growled.

"But he's the thief!" Zeus protected angrily.

"If you do that." Annabeth warned. "The Fates will cursed you."

"Impossible!" Zeus said. "I'm not harming anyone!"

"Luke is one of the Fate's heroes." Annabeth said and releasing some of a killer instinct.

Almost everyone shivered at Annabeth's killer instinct expect for Zeus, Athena, Artemis, and Poseidon.

Zeus stuttered.

"What?!" Zeus exclaimed. "HE'S A THEIF! HOW IN MY FATHER'S NAME THAT HE'S ONE OF THE FATE'S HEROS?!"

Annabeth chuckled softly.

"I don't know why, but I believed that he's a hero in the end." Annabeth smiled.

 _I hope you heard that, Luke,_ Annabeth thought warmly. She may have got over her crush years ago, but she still love Luke as a brother.

Zeus, obviously didn't like the answer, but take that answer for now.

" **You,** " **I said.**

 **He stood calmly and brushed off his jeans.**

 **The scorpion paid him no attention. It kept its beady black eyes on me, clamping its pincers as it crawled onto my shoe.**

 **"I saw a lot out there in the world, Percy," Luke said. "Didn't you feel it—the darkness gathering, the monsters growing stronger? Didn't you realize how useless it all is? All the heroics—being pawns of the gods. They should've been overthrown thousands of years ago, but they've hung on, thanks to us half-bloods."**

 **I couldn't believe this was happening.**

"Me too." Hermes grumbled.

 **"Luke ... you're talking about our parents," I said.**

 **He laughed. "That's supposed to make me love them? Their precious 'Western civilization is a disease, Percy. It's killing the world. The only way to stop it is to burn it to the ground, start over with something more honest."**

 **"You're as crazy as Ares."**

"Nope!" Zeus said angrily. "He's crazy as a fuck."

"HEY! DON'T CALL MY SON A 'FUCK' BASTARD!" Hermes yelled.

 **His eyes flared. "Ares is a fool. He never realized the true master he was serving. If I had time, Percy, I could explain. But I'm afraid you won't live that long."**

 **The scorpion crawled onto my pants leg.**

 **There had to be a way out of this. I needed time to think.**

 **"Kronos," I said. "That's who you serve."**

"I WANT TO KILL THAT MOTHERFUCKER!" Zeus roared.

 **The air got colder.**

 **"You should be careful with names," Luke warned.**

 **"Kronos got you to steal the master bolt and the helm. He spoke to you in your dreams."**

"…Damn dad." Zeus muttered.

 **Luke's eye twitched. "He spoke to you, too, Percy. You should've listened."**

 **"He's brainwashing you, Luke."**

"See?" Annabeth said.

"…Fine…" Zeus muttered angrily.

 **"You're wrong. He showed me that my talents are being wasted. You know what my quest was two years ago, Percy? My father, Hermes, wanted me to steal a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides and return it to Olympus. After all the training I'd done, that was the best he could think up."**

"So that's my fault." Hermes said sadly.

"Nope it not." Annabeth said. "It Zeus's he made a Gods damn law, that parents are forbidden to see their own children."

 **"That's not an easy quest," I said. "Hercules did it."**

"WHY YOU MENTION THAT SICK BASTARD!?" Leo screamed.

 **"Exactly," Luke said. "Where's the glory in repeating what others have done? All the gods know how to do is replay their past. My heart wasn't in it. The dragon in the garden gave me this"—he pointed angrily at his scar—"and when I came back, all I got was pity. I wanted to pull Olympus down stone by stone right then, but I bided my time. I began to dream of Kronos. He convinced me to steal something worthwhile, something no hero had ever had the courage to take. When we went on that winter-solstice field trip, while the other campers were asleep, I snuck into the throne room and took Zeus's master bolt right from his chair. Hades's helm of darkness, too. You wouldn't believe how easy it was. The Olympians are so arrogant; they never dreamed someone would dare steal from them. Their security is horrible. I was halfway across New Jersey before I heard the storms rumbling, and I knew they'd discovered my theft."**

"We need to upgrade our security." Zeus deadpanned.

"No kidding." Hades deadpanned.

 **The scorpion was sitting on my knee now, staring at me with its glittering eyes. I tried to keep my voice level. "So why didn't you bring the items to Kronos?"**

 **Luke's smile wavered. "I ... I got overconfident. Zeus sent out his sons and daughters to find the stolen bolt— Artemis, Apollo, my father, Hermes. But it was Ares who caught me. I could have beaten him, but I wasn't careful enough. He disarmed me, took the items of power, threatened to return them to Olympus and burn me alive. Then Kronos's voice came to me and told me what to say. I put the idea in Ares's head about a great war between the gods. I said all he had to do was hide the items away for a while and watch the others fight. Ares got a wicked gleam in his eyes. I knew he was hooked. He let me go, and I returned to Olympus before anyone noticed my absence." Luke drew his new sword. He ran his thumb down the flat of the blade, as if he were hypnotized by its beauty. "Afterward, the Lord of the Titans ... h-he punished me with nightmares. I swore not to fail again. Back at Camp Half-Blood, in my dreams, I was told that a second hero would arrive, one who could be tricked into taking the bolt and the helm the rest of the way—from Ares down to Tartarus."**

 **"You summoned the hellhound, that night in the forest."**

"WHY?!" Poseidon roared. "I WILL KICK THAT FUCKARD'S ASS!"

 **"We had to make Chiron think the camp wasn't safe for you, so he would start you on your quest. We had to confirm his fears that Hades was after you. And it worked."**

"I WILL SENT HIM TO TARTARUS!" Hades shouted.

 _Seemed the big three is very pissed. Let hope they don't declare war_ , Thalia thought grimly.

 **"The flying shoes were cursed," I said. "They were supposed to drag me and the backpack into Tartarus."**

 **"And they would have, if you'd been wearing them. But you gave them to the satyr, which wasn't part of the plan. Grover messes up everything he touches. He even confused the curse."**

 **Luke looked down at the scorpion, which was now sitting on my thigh. "You should have died in Tartarus, Percy. But don't worry, I'll leave you with my little friend to set things right."**

 **"Thalia gave her life to save you," I said, gritting my teeth. "And this is how you repay her?"**

 **"Don't speak of Thalia!" he shouted. "The gods let her die! That's one of the many things they will pay for."**

"No." Thalia whispered. "I sacrificed my live. I choice to die."

 **"You're being used, Luke. You and Ares both. Don't listen to Kronos."**

 **"I've been used?" Luke's voice turned shrill. "Look at yourself. What has your dad ever done for you? Kronos will rise. You've only delayed his plans. He will cast the Olympians into Tartarus and drive humanity back to their caves. All except the strongest—the ones who serve him."**

 **"Call off the bug," I said. "If you're so strong, fight me yourself"**

 **Luke smiled. "Nice try, Percy. But I'm not Ares. You can't bait me. My lord is waiting, and he's got plenty of quests for me to undertake."**

 **"Luke—"**

 **"Good-bye, Percy. There is a new Golden Age coming. You won't be part of it."**

Everyone paled.

Poseidon was the worst. He thought about that prophecy from the Fates.

 **He slashed his sword in an arc and disappeared in a ripple of darkness.**

 **The scorpion lunged.**

 **I swatted it away with my hand and uncapped my sword. The thing jumped at me and I cut it in half in midair.**

 **I was about to congratulate myself until I looked down at my hand. My palm had a huge red welt, oozing and smoking with yellow guck. The thing had gotten me after all.**

 **My ears pounded. My vision went foggy. The water, I thought. It healed me before.**

"It won't." Poseidon said sadly.

 **I stumbled to the creek and submerged my hand, but nothing seemed to happen. The poison was too strong. My vision was getting dark. I could barely stand up.**

 **Sixty seconds, Luke had told me.**

 **I had to get back to camp. If I collapsed out here, my body would be dinner for a monster. Nobody would ever know what had happened.**

 **My legs felt like lead. My forehead was burning. I stumbled toward the camp, and the nymphs stirred from their trees.**

 **"Help," I croaked. "Please ..."**

 **Two of them took my arms, pulling me along. I remember making it to the clearing, a counselor shouting for help, a centaur blowing a conch horn.**

 **Then everything went black.**

 **I woke with a drinking straw in my mouth. I was sipping something that tasted like liquid chocolate-chip cookies. Nectar.**

 **I opened my eyes.**

 **I was propped up in bed in the sickroom of the Big House, my right hand bandaged like a club. Argus stood guard in the corner. Annabeth sat next to me, holding my nectar glass and dabbing a washcloth on my forehead.**

 **"Here we are again," I said.**

Everyone snickered expect for Annabeth who frowned.

 **"You idiot," Annabeth said, which is how I knew she was overjoyed to see me conscious. "You were green and turning gray when we found you. If it weren't for Chiron's healing ..."**

"Thank you Chiron." Poseidon whispered.

 **"Now, now," Chiron's voice said. "Percy's constitution deserves some of the credit."**

 **He was sitting near the foot of my bed in human form, which was why I hadn't noticed him yet. His lower half was magically compacted into the wheelchair, his upper half dressed in a coat and tie. He smiled, but his face looked weary and pale, the way it did when he'd been up all night grading Latin papers.**

 **"How are you feeling?" he asked.**

 **"Like my insides have been frozen, then microwaved."**

"That sound pretty bad." Hermes said in pity.

 **"Apt, considering that was pit scorpion venom. Now you must tell me, if you can, exactly what happened."**

 **Between sips of nectar, I told them the story.**

 **The room was quiet for a long time.**

 **"I can't believe that Luke ..." Annabeth's voice faltered.**

"Same." Annabeth grumbled.

 **Her expression turned angry and sad. "Yes. Yes, I can believe it. May the gods curse him... He was never the same after his quest."**

 **"This must be reported to Olympus," Chiron murmured. "I will go at once."**

 **"Luke is out there right now," I said. "I have to go after him."**

 **Chiron shook his head. "No, Percy. The gods—"**

 **"Won't even talk about Kronos," I snapped. "Zeus declared the matter closed!"**

"Coward." Poseidon taunted.

"Hey!"

"It true."

 **"Percy, I know this is hard. But you must not rush out for vengeance. You aren't ready."**

 **I didn't like it, but part of me suspected Chiron was right. One look at my hand, and I knew I wasn't going to be sword fighting any time soon. "Chiron ... your prophecy from the Oracle ... it was about Kronos, wasn't it? Was I in it? And Annabeth?"**

 **Chiron glanced nervously at the ceiling. "Percy, it isn't my place—"**

"WHAT?!" Zeus yelled.

 **"You've been ordered not to talk to me about it, haven't you?"**

 **His eyes were sympathetic, but sad. "You will be a great hero, child. I will do my best to prepare you. But if I'm right about the path ahead of you ..."**

 **Thunder boomed overhead, rattling the windows.**

 **"All right!" Chiron shouted. "Fine!"**

 **He sighed in frustration. "The gods have their reasons, Percy. Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing."**

"True." Thalia said.

 **"We can't just sit back and do nothing," I said.**

 **"We will not sit back," Chiron promised. "But you must be careful. Kronos wants you to come unraveled. He wants your life disrupted, your thoughts clouded with fear and anger. Do not give him what he wants. Train patiently. Your time will come."**

 **"Assuming I live that long."**

 **Chiron put his hand on my ankle. "You'll have to trust me, Percy. You will live. But first you must decide your path for the coming year. I cannot tell you the right choice..." I got the feeling that he had a very definite opinion, and it was taking all his willpower not to advise me. "But you must decide whether to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, or return to the mortal world for seventh grade and be a summer camper. Think on that. When I get back from Olympus, you must tell me your decision."**

 **I wanted to protest. I wanted to ask him more questions. But his expression told me there could be no more discussion; he had said as much as he could.**

 **"I'll be back as soon as I can," Chiron promised. "Argus will watch over you."**

 **He glanced at Annabeth. "Oh, and, my dear ... whenever you're ready, they're here."**

"Who?" Leo asked.

"You will find out." Annabeth snapped.

 **"Who's here?" I asked.**

 **Nobody answered.**

 **Chiron rolled himself out of the room. I heard the wheels of his chair clunk carefully down the front steps, two at a time.**

 **Annabeth studied the ice in my drink.**

 **"What's wrong?" I asked her.**

 **"Nothing." She set the glass on the table. "I … just took your advice about something. You … um … need anything?"**

 **"Yeah. Help me up. I want to go outside."**

"I don't think that isn't a good idea." Hermes said.

 **"Percy, that isn't a good idea."**

 **I slid my legs out of bed. Annabeth caught me before I could crumple to the floor. A wave of nausea rolled over me.**

 **Annabeth said, "I told you …"**

 **"I'm fine," I insisted. I didn't want to lie in bed like an invalid while Luke was out there planning to destroy the Western world.**

Everyone grimaced.

"I know that feelin'." Leo said in a pity.

 **I managed a step forward. Then another, still leaning heavily on Annabeth. Argus followed us outside, but he kept his distance.**

 **By the time we reached the porch, my face was beaded with sweat. My stomach had twisted into knots. But I had managed to make it all the way to the railing.**

 **It was dusk. The camp looked completely deserted. The cabins were dark and the volleyball pit silent. No canoes cut the surface of the lake. Beyond the woods and the strawberry fields, the Long Island Sound glittered in the last light of the sun.**

 **"What are you going to do?" Annabeth asked me.**

 **"I don't know."**

 **I told her I got the feeling Chiron wanted me to stay year-round, to put in more individual training time, but I wasn't sure that's what I wanted. I admitted I'd feel bad about leaving her alone, though, with only Clarisse for company….**

 **Annabeth pursed her lips, then said quietly, "I'm going home for the year, Percy."**

 **I stared at her. "You mean, to your dad's?"**

 **She pointed toward the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Next to Thalia's pine tree, at the very edge of the camp's magical boundaries, a family stood silhouetted—two little children, a woman, and a tall man with blond hair. They seemed to be waiting. The man was holding a backpack that looked like the one Annabeth had gotten from Waterland in Denver.**

 **"I wrote him a letter when we got back," Annabeth said. "Just like you suggested. I told him ... I was sorry. I'd come home for the school year if he still wanted me. He wrote back immediately. We decided ... we'd give it another try."**

"That took a lot of guts." Hephaestus grumbled. "I can't even talk to Hera in five seconds."

 **"That took guts."**

 **She pursed her lips. "You won't try anything stupid during the school year, will you?**

"YOU JINXED HIM!" Connor screamed.

"Oh shut up jackass."

 **At least … not without sending me an Iris-message?"**

 **I managed a smile. "I won't go looking for trouble. I usually don't have to."**

 **"When I get back next summer," she said, "we'll hunt down Luke. We'll ask for a quest, but if we don't get approval, we'll sneak off and do it anyway. Agreed?"**

 **"Sounds like a plan worthy of Athena."**

 **She held out her hand. I shook it.**

 **"Take care, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth told me. "Keep your eyes open."**

 **"You too, Wise Girl."**

"Aw." Aphrodite cooed.

 **I watched her walk up the hill and join her family. She gave her father an awkward hug and looked back at the valley one last time. She touched Thalia's pine tree, then allowed herself to be lead over the crest and into the mortal world.**

 **For the first time at camp, I felt truly alone. I looked out at Long Island Sound and I remembered my father saying, The sea does not like to be restrained.**

 **I made my decision.**

 **I wondered, if Poseidon were watching, would he approve of my choice?**

Suddenly there is a portal appeared in front of the room.

Mostly everyone grabbed their weapons.

There were a man; a man whom hasn't been aged since the Giant War. There is no doubt, he is Percy Jackson. The missing hero.

"Heya." Percy grin wickedly. at the shock people. "Gods sent me to say hallelujah motherfuckers." And then he collapsed and there were a pool of blood. And there is a knife on is his back. It like he was stabbed.

* * *

Thanks you for the those who did read my sentence! Sorry for the very long wait! I got a finger injury. It didn't let me type for a while. Anyway as you see this is the final chapter, it's not. There will be one more bonus chapter. On the bonus chapter, you will know when the next sequel! See you on the next chapter! :)


	26. Bonus chapter of Percy Jackson

I don't own PJ and HOO. It belong to Rick Riordan to the man who encouraged me to reads Greek and Roman Mythology!

Hey readers! Welcome to the final chapter of this story, but don't worry there will be a sequel! I'll let you know when is out. But while the sequel is coming soon, I proudly presented you a bonus chapter of Percy Jackson first arrived in the Void! At the end of this chapter I'll let you know when sequel will be done! :)

Warning for abuse scene, mature strong language, and blood gore.

* * *

As Percy body faded from Earth to the darkest piece of the Void; due to the curse of Gaea...He have nothing with him to fight the evil. Since his beloved sword isn't strong enough to be here. Obviously, it wasn't built for it.

Suddenly there is a monster that have a humanoid shape, approximately three metres, or 10 feet high, and are covered in dark hooded cloaks of long ripped black cloth, making them closely resemble wraiths. Its body is greyed and decayed looking, like a decomposing corpse, and its breath sounds rattling like it is trying to "suck more than air" out of a room. Its hands are "glistening, greyish, slimy-looking, and scabbed". However that has no face and there is dark smoke everyone; darkness surrounds them.

It spoke, "Ο γιος του καταραμένου Ποσειδώνα… (The son of the cursed Poseidon...)".

For some reason Percy body is shaking in fear. His eyes show nothing, but fear. His blood on his vain turned frozen. His skin turn pale.

It cackled evilly and spoke, "Μια πολύ σπάνια για να δω ... Heh heh ... (A very rare to see…Heh heh…)"

"Y-y-you…Who the fuck are you…?" Percy wheezed.

It mockingly spoke, "Είμαι τόσο απογοητευμένος ... Φάνηκε ότι δεν με ξέρεις ... Τι κρίμα. (I'm so disappointed…You seemed don't know me…What a pity.)"

Percy didn't respond, just gritted his teeth.

It hissed, "Δεν έχω όνομα ... Αλλά ξέρω ότι γεννήθηκα για να σκοτώσω τα παιδιά του Ποσειδώνα. Λένε ότι είμαι η κατάρα του Ποσειδώνα και του καταστροφέα. Είμαι ο άγγελος του θανάτου. (I have no name ... But I know I was born to kill the children of Poseidon. They say I am the curse of Poseidon and the destroyer. I am the angel of death.)"

"If you are the Angel of Death, then why are you here then?" Percy spatted.

It cackled evilly; seemed it enjoying this.

It spoke, "Είμαι εδώ για να σε σκοτώσω ... Ω περιμένετε, σχεδόν ξέχασα! Δεν είστε πλέον θνητός. Ξέρεις τι σημαίνει αυτό ? (I'm here to kill you ... Oh wait, I almost forgot! You are no longer mortal. Do you know what this means ?)"

Percy look dumbfounded at first, but then realized what it meant, he paled.

"Oh shit." Percy cursed and tried to run away. However the 'Angel of Death' grabbed his arm. Suddenly his arm felt weak and cold.

"W-what did you do...?" Percy said weakly.

It whispered mockingly, "Είναι μυστικό. (It's a secret.)"

Percy winced and said before he blacked out,

"You son of bitch..!"

And then the world went black.

—

Percy started wake up, he immediately realized that his both hand are chained. And the air smell like bloody. It make him feel sick.

"Ah I see your a wake." It smiled cruelly.

"W-who are you..?" Percy asked quietly, but it heard him.

"Oh nothing. I'm here to punish you."

Percy's breath quickened.

"What...? What I do?" He asked.

"You killed Lady Gaea and her children brutally." It snarled. "As your eternal punishment; beating." It smiled wickedly.

Percy's vision changed and Percy started to shake his head repeatedly in fear, because he's seeing Gabe again.

"NOOOOO!" Percy screamed in horror.

It raised the whip and whacked Percy's ripped shirt and his blood splattered the wall.

Percy's painfully scream echoes the room.

After thirty minutes of hellish nightmare of Percy's beating. Percy's body turned into dust, but will reform in couple hours.

"Ugh." It said in disappointment. "To bad that bitch given up...But I enjoy it, a lot."

It walked away to the shadows and disappeared in endless darkness.

* * *

Sorry for a really short bonus chapter of Percy Jackson first arrived at the Void..Anyway for the sequel, it will be released on October 1st or on September. If I'm lucky enough to write that fast! ;) When the sequel is done, I'll posted here to let you know what name it will be! :) Also let hope that my finger injury will heal soon! ;)

\- Tantei Otaku-kun


	27. The sequel is out!

Hello guys! It is been forever! Ladies and gentlemen...I proudly presented the sequel of _Percy Jackson and the Olympus reads Percy Jackson books_ have arrived! It's called ' _Percy Jackson and the Olympus: The Missing Hero Returns_ '!

\- Author-chan


End file.
